Those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not have to quarantine if they are exposed to the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
In guidance released on Wednesday, the CDC declared that those who have received both doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine are no longer required to self-isolate for 10 to 14 days because science shows that “vaccination has been demonstrated to prevent symptomatic COVID-19.”
“Additionally, individual and societal benefits of avoiding unnecessary quarantine may outweigh the potential but unknown risk of transmission, and facilitate the direction of public health resources to persons at highest risk for transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to others,” the CDC vaccination webpage states.
This new advice applies only to people who have received their shots more than two weeks before initial virus exposure and less than three months after their last dose of the vaccine and are not showing any symptoms of being infected. Exceptions to the new rule are “inpatients or residents in healthcare settings,” which the CDC said is attributed to the “the higher risk of severe disease and death” and a lack of social distancing in care facilities. A patient or resident’s quarantine period should only be absolved if there is a lack of space, care staff, or other measures meant to protect those who were exposed to the virus.
Despite the new guidance suggesting the vaccine promises a return to normal and at least short-term immunity, the CDC is still pressuring people to wear masks, social distance, and take other precautionary measures to prevent COVID-19 spread, advice that the Biden administration and other vaccinated politicians have relished in.
At a recent White House press briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki claimed that the same COVID-19 measures pushed on people before the distribution of the vaccine should remain in place for an indeterminate amount of time.
“Even after you’re vaccinated, social distancing, wearing masks are going to be essential. We’ll need to keep communicating about that through health and medical experts,” Psaki explained.
