CDC says it is safe for vaccinated people to unmask outdoors
New guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it is safe for people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be outside without a mask, but essentially only in small groups.
The guidance, which CDC Director Rochelle Walensky outlined during a White House press conference Tuesday, builds on previous updates from the agency about the activities people can feel comfortable with once fully vaccinated.
“Today is another day we can take a step back to the normalcy of before. Over the past year, we have spent a lot of time telling Americans what they cannot do, what they should not do,” Walensky said. “Today, I’m going to tell you some of the things you can do if you are fully vaccinated.”
People who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus — two weeks past the second shot of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, or the only dose of Johnson & Johnson— no longer need to wear masks outdoors if they’re walking, running, hiking or biking, either alone or with members of their household, and in small outdoor gatherings.
Simple, but effective: The message was echoed by President Biden in remarks outside the White House. “If you are vaccinated, you can do more things,” he said. Biden has set a July 4th target for a return to normalcy, and his remarks and the CDC guidance are aimed at showing the benefits when people get vaccinated.
Masks still needed: Even vaccinated people should wear a mask when outdoors in a crowded public space like a concert or stadium, indoors in public spaces like a mall, houses of worship, or even a small indoor gathering with a mixture of vaccinated and unvaccinated people, the CDC said. Infections are decreasing, but still averaging more than 50,000 a day, and more than half the population still needs to be vaccinated.
Outdoors safer: There is very little evidence, if any, of viral transmission outside, particularly when individuals are socially distanced. Experts have increasingly questioned the need for mask use outdoors given the rising percentage of Americans who are vaccinated against the virus. While the guidance was applauded by some public health experts, others think the agency could have gone even further.
States respond: While almost every state during the peak months of the pandemic imposed some sort of public mask mandate, some went even further, and told residents to wear masks every time they left the house, regardless of if they were outdoors, indoors, alone or with others.
Public health experts have criticized such strict mandates, but Walensky stopped short of calling for states to end them. She said she was concerned about protecting unvaccinated people at large, crowded events. Without being able to differentiate the vaccinated from the unvaccinated, blanket mandates seem to be the best solution available.
After the CDC’s announcement, Massachusetts and Maine said they were lifting outdoor mandates entirely, while New York and California said they were adopting the CDC guidance.
