CDC: Fully vaccinated can meet safely without masks

People fully vaccinated for COVID-19 can meet with other people indoors without wearing masks, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday.

They can visit unvaccinated people from one other household indoors without wearing masks, or staying six feet (1.8 meters) apart, if everyone in the other household is at low risk for severe disease, it said in new guidelines.

The CDC also advised fully vaccinated people to refrain from quarantine and testing if they do not have COVID-19 symptoms after contact with someone who has it.

"We know that people want to get vaccinated so they can get back to doing the things they enjoy with the people they love," CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky said in a statement.

"There are some activities that fully vaccinated people can begin to resume now in their own homes. Everyone – even those who are vaccinated – should continue with all mitigation strategies when in public settings," she added.

Fully vaccinated people, however, are still recommended to avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings, follow guidance issued by individual employers, and follow travel requirements and recommendations, it added.

However, the CDC said the vast majority of people in the US need to be fully vaccinated before pandemic precautions can be lifted broadly.

Out of 116 million distributed doses of vaccines in the US, 90 million had been administered as of early Sunday in the US, but only 30.6 million people, or 9.2% of the US population, have gotten two doses, said the CDC.

More than 29 million cases have been recorded in the US since the start of the pandemic with over 525,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.