CDC Says You Can Finally Do This Again After Vaccination

More than 43 million Americans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and while that's a huge accomplishment, health experts emphasize that there's a long way to go. Being fully vaccinated isn't a quick ticket back to pre-pandemic life. To help us navigate this new world, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released guidance on what things are safe for fully vaccinated people to do, and what still poses a risk to yourself and others. Read on—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had Coronavirus. 

If you've been fully vaccinated, the CDC says you can gather indoors with other fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask. "Fully vaccinated" means that two weeks have passed after your second dose of a two-dose regimen, like the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, like Johnson & Johnson's. Before that, you're not fully protected, and you should keep taking all precautions to prevent yourself and others from COVID.

When you're fully vaccinated, "You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19," the CDC says.

If you're fully vaccinated and you've been around someone who has COVID-19, you don't need to isolate from other people, or get tested for COVID unless you have symptoms.

The exception: If you live in a group setting, like a detention facility or group home. If you've had close contact with someone who has COVID-19, you should self-isolate for 14 days and get tested, even if you're not showing symptoms.

The CDC says that even after you're fully vaccinated, you should still take steps to protect yourself and others: wear a mask, observe a distance of six feet from others in public, and avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. 

Unfortunately, the vaccine is not a passport back to the way life was: The CDC says that even after being fully vaccinated, you should still delay domestic and international travel, and avoid medium or large-sized gatherings. 

As for yourself, do everything you can to prevent getting—and spreading—COVID-19 in the first place: Wear a face mask, get tested if you think you have coronavirus, avoid crowds (and bars, and house parties), practice social distancing, only run essential errands, wash your hands regularly, disinfect frequently touched surfaces, and to get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don't miss these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.