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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced updated COVID-19 guidance for masking outdoors and for fully vaccinated people. For instance, fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a protective mask outdoors, except in certain crowded settings and venues. "I completely agree with the updated CDC recommendations," says Dr. Abinash Virk, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert. "We are all following the science and new data from clinicians and scientists, and correspondingly evolving our recommendations for the public. It truly is like building the plane as you fly it, but clearly it is flying well with vaccinations. People should still use judgment and wear a mask when in crowded areas where distances can’t be maintained, or if they or their family members are immunocompromised.”
The CDC's guidance states that fully vaccinated people may do the following:
- Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
- Visit with unvaccinated people (including children) from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
- Participate in outdoor activities and recreation without a mask, except in certain crowded settings and venues.
- Resume domestic travel and refrain from testing before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel, of self-quarantine after travel.
Wearing a well-fitted mask in indoor public settings and when visiting unvaccinated people, especially those who are at high risk of severe COVID-19, remains an important step in reducing the spread of COVID-19.
Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date.
For more information and all your COVID-19 coverage, go to the Mayo Clinic News Network and mayoclinic.org.
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