As more and more Americans receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC is expected to issue new guidelines on what types of social gatherings and interactions are safe for people who are fully vaccinated.
Being fully vaccinated means two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer or Modern vaccine and two weeks after the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
On Friday, during a briefing by the COVID-19 White House team, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky again promised that more guidance would come “soon” for people who have been vaccinated, but did not provide a specific date for its release. He reported that the agency was taking the time to issue guidelines because it wants to make sure Americans can act safely on that guidance.
Doctors across the country are being asked for information on what patients can do once fully vaccinated; can they visit their grandchildren? Can they be in a crowd? Can they have a few friends? Can they give people hugs?
“I think people need practical advice on how to make their daily lives,” Julia Marcus, epidemiologist of infectious diseases at Harvard he told CNN. “I think without guidance, people can make decisions that are uninformed.”
The Biden administration told reporters that they have been working on these guidelines for weeks and that they are expected to be released any day.
No vaccine is 100% effective in preventing disease, and those who have been vaccinated can still get COVID-19, as two people recently did in Oregon, and could pass the virus to others.
Health experts have been warning that even fully vaccinated people should wear a mask and social distance when possible to protect others and themselves.