TOPLINE Someone who is fully vaccinated who’s exposed to coronavirus doesn’t have to quarantine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said Wednesday, offering clarity into how vaccinated people should go about their lives as the rest of the country waits to get inoculated.
KEY FACTS
- In the new guidance, the CDC said people who have received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and are currently asymptomatic are no longer required to quarantine for two weeks.
- It can take up to two weeks to develop immunity after the last dose, so the CDC says people should still quarantine if it has been less than two weeks since their last shot.
- However, the free pass on quarantining only applies to those who received their second shot within the last three months, since it’s unclear as of yet how long protection lasts.
- The CDC still says that vaccinated people should continue to wear masks and social distance because the vaccine isn’t 100% effective and it doesn’t prevent asymptomatic illness.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
“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 said.
KEY BACKGROUND
There have been a few publicized cases of individuals testing positive for the virus even after they have been vaccinated, including Rep. Steve Lynch (D-Ma.) and a California man who tested positive three weeks after getting his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Still, no one is keeping track of reinfections, so it’s unclear how widespread the issue is.
By Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff
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