That doesn’t mean they have to stop taking precautions, the CDC noted in the updated guide. They just don’t need to be quarantined.
“Fully vaccinated people who meet the criteria will no longer have to quarantine after exposure to someone with COVID-19,” the CDC said in updates to its vaccination-oriented website.
“People vaccinated on exposure to someone with suspicion or confirmation of COVID-19 are not required to be quarantined if they meet all of the following criteria,” the CDC added.
The criteria: they must be completely vaccinated, having had both vaccines at least two weeks after the second vaccination. This is because it takes two weeks to build complete immunity after the second dose of vaccine.
But the CDC says it is not known how long the protection lasts, so people who received the last shot three months or more ago should still be quarantined if exposed. CDCs should also quarantine them if they show symptoms.
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“This recommendation to waive quarantine for people with vaccine-derived immunity is in line with quarantine recommendations for those with natural immunity, which facilitates implementation,” the CDC said. The agency will update the guidelines as it learns more.
People who have been vaccinated should watch for symptoms for 14 days after being exposed to someone infected, the CDC said.
And everyone, vaccinated or not, must follow all other precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, the CDC said. This is no less important because it is possible that even vaccinated people can harbor the virus in their nose and throat and pass it on to other people.
“At this time, vaccinated people should continue to follow current guidelines to protect themselves and others, including wearing a mask, stay at least 6 feet away from others, avoid congestion , avoid poorly ventilated areas, cover coughs and sneezes, wash your hands often, follow CDC travel guidelines, and follow any guidelines applicable to work or school, including guidelines related to the use of personal protective equipment or SARS-CoV-2 testing, ”the agency said.
Vaccines prevent symptomatic disease, but have not yet been shown to prevent asymptomatic disease, the CDC noted. Although asymptomatic people can spread the coronavirus, according to the CDC, “symptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission is believed to play a more important role in transmission than purely asymptomatic transmission.”
In addition, the benefits of not unnecessarily forcing people to shut down for two weeks can offset the risks of transmission in these cases, the CDC said.
“These criteria could also be applied when considering work restrictions for fully vaccinated health personnel with higher-risk exposures, as a strategy to alleviate staff shortages. It should be noted that exposed health personnel should not quarantine outside of work, “the CDC said.
“As an exception to the previous guide, which no longer requires quarantine for fully vaccinated individuals, vaccinated hospitalized patients and residents in healthcare settings should continue in quarantine after exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19; outpatients should be cared for through the use of appropriate transmission. Based precautions, “the CDC added.
This is because the effectiveness of the vaccine in hospitalized people is unclear.
“While not preferred, health facilities might consider waiving quarantine for vaccinated patients and residents as a strategy to mitigate critical issues (e.g., lack of space, staff, or PPE to address safely exposed patients or residents) when other options fail or are not available These decisions could be made in consultation with public health officials and infection control experts “.
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