CDC says fully vaccinated Americans can go without masks outdoors except in crowded settings

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

Federal health officials said Tuesday that fully vaccinated Americans can go without masks outdoors when walking, jogging or biking outdoors, or dining with friends at outdoor restaurants. The guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the latest set of recommendations for people who are two weeks past their final shot, and for those who have not yet been inoculated. The guidelines address growing calls from infectious-disease and other public health experts to drop mask mandates for outdoors because breezes disperse airborne virus particles, distancing is easier, and humidity and sunlight render the coronavirus less viable.

For that reason, the guidance also says even unvaccinated individuals may go without masks when walking, jogging or biking outdoors with household members. However, officials caution that crowded outdoor settings still pose risks and urge everyone — both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals — to wear masks when attending sporting events, live performances and parades.The recommendations come as more than 52 percent of eligible people in the United States have gotten at least one shot, but vaccine supply has begun to outstrip demand. The guidance is aimed at helping the fully inoculated ease back into daily routines upended by the pandemic while encouraging others to get their shots to counter the highly contagious new variants of the virus.

States and localities across the country are opening walk-in clinics to make it easier for people to get vaccines. A growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infections or transmit the coronavirus to others. Officials don’t know how long protection lasts and how much the vaccines protect against emerging virus variants. But “taking steps toward relaxing certain measures for vaccinated people may help improve coronavirus vaccine acceptance and uptake,” the guidance states. “Therefore, there are several activities that fully vaccinated people can resume now, at low risk to themselves, while being mindful of the potential risk of transmitting the disease to others.”

Last month, the CDC told pandemic-weary Americans who were fully vaccinated they could gather indoors with other fully vaccinated people without wearing masks, and could visit indoors with unvaccinated people under certain conditions. The guidance released Tuesday includes a color-coded chart that shows activities that fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people can do indoors and outdoors, and which ones can be done without masks. The safest activities, highlighted in green, are outdoors in small gatherings. Activities with the greatest risk are indoor settings that involve behaviors such as singing, shouting, heavy breathing, inability to wear a mask or inability to maintain physical distancing, such as indoor high-intensity exercise class.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/04/27/cdc-guidance-masks-outdoors/

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[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. You beat me to this

I self deleted my thread

Link to tweet

Federal health officials said Tuesday that fully vaccinated Americans can go without masks outdoors when walking, jogging or biking outdoors, or dining with friends at outdoor restaurants.

The guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the latest set of recommendations for people who are two weeks past their final shot, and for those who have not yet been inoculated. The guidelines address growing calls from infectious-disease and other public health experts to relax mask mandates for the outdoors because breezes disperse airborne virus particles, distancing is easier, and humidity and sunlight render the coronavirus less viable.

For that reason, the guidance also says even unvaccinated individuals may go without masks when walking, jogging or biking outdoors with household members. However, officials caution that crowded outdoor settings still pose risks and urge everyone — both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals — to wear masks when attending sporting events, live performances and parades.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Probably just barely since the NYT had a breaking on it too

Have been trying to find the actual "guidance" (the old versions were still on CDC's website and a line item dated for today was linking to something from back in March ).

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. I was also on Washington Post

I was having trouble cutting and pasting

[underpants]

2. Duh!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215377506

[BumRushDaShow]

4. LOL

[pidge]

5. Does this mean I have to carry proof of vaccination ?

[BumRushDaShow]

6. They have a holder for that

[pidge]

26. Neat 😀

[Ace Rothstein]

7. Nobody is going to stop you outdoors to make sure you are vaccinated.

[Auggie]

9. I'm not buying it yet

Too many variants out there. Erring on the side of caution.

[deurbano]

11. And you can't tell who is vaccinated by looking, so it's to the benefit of the unvaccinated

(and for the potential breakthrough cases even among the vaccinated) just to keep the mask wearing protocols for now, even as vaccinated people can enjoy more socializing, especially with other vaccinated people.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

10. I think this will grow to be too complicated to be really effective.

There are already fakes.
https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2021/PSA210330

[Wingus Dingus]

12. I've never worn a mask outdoors. If I have to talk to others I just don't get real close.

There can't possibly be any real risk of transmission outdoors unless you're in a tight crowd or a tent situation. This is kind of a "duh".

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. Likewise

I'll carry one with while on a walk but usually try to maintain my distance from others.

[abqtommy]

14. I thank the CDC for this information. snark off But I've been going around masked for

over a year and haven't yet caught covid, dengue fever or yellow fever or ebola or the
common flu (but then I got vaccinated for that). So don't mind me if you see me still
going around in my mask for a long, long time.

[Jopin Klobe]

15. CDC says fully vaccinated Americans can go without masks outdoors ...

... unless you have a blood cancer such as Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ...

[NH Ethylene]

16. Nice of them to catch up to common sense.

I've been doing this all along, even before vaccination. When you're outside and nobody is near you and there is a nice breeze, a mask is not necessary.

The chart is helpful though.

[eissa]

17. We've gone hiking in remote areas along the coast

here in California, and have been baffled seeing people masked on the trails. You're literally breathing in clean, fresh air in sparsely populated areas. We would quickly mask up once we spotted people, just to prevent upsetting anyone, but took them off once out of eyesight. Simply made no sense to us.

[joetheman]

21. I just keep my mask on. I am used to it now. AND no allergies, no flu, no colds since wearing mask

Not even one sinus infection since I started wearing a mask and I have very, very bad sinus infection susceptibility. My sinuses usually put me down for two to three weeks every year.

[IronLionZion]

27. East coast trails can be more crowded

so I just keep my mask in a pocket and put it on when people are nearby. Most of the trails are one way in crowded areas anyway.

[CreekDog]

29. are you criticizing people for following the rules while you were breaking them?

i mean really?

it's true that you only had to wear them when you were within 6 feet of someone, but on trails, that happens all the time and some people just keep their mask on rather than take it on and off.

also another thing you never considered was that people were hiking with people outside their household and wore masks for that reason.

and you came up on them and despite the rules, never wore a mask.

and you have the audacity to mock them.

[NH Ethylene]

32. That didn't strike me as mocking at all.

You do make a good point though, that people in groups outside their families need to be masked while hiking together.

[CreekDog]

34. thanks for considering that now

[ananda]

18. That's just what I've been doing.

I always wear it indoors, but take it off outdoors.

[yaesu]

19. that ship sailed a long time ago around here. nt

[RobinA]

20. Is This Supposed

to be a change? I’m from PA, which has a mask mandate, but outdoors only if you can’t social distance. We’re never getting rid of these things.

[BumRushDaShow]

22. I'm in Philly

and from what I understand, for both the state and here in Philly, they adjust most of the recommendations to comply with the CDC guidelines. The "fine print" is generally dealing with "indoors" and capacities for "outdoor facilities".

Part of the problem is the continued mixed messaging that attempts to give "hope" but still needs to communicate the risks. This CDC guidance is supposedly for "outdoors" and would be pretty much the same as PA's - no masking needed outdoors unless you can't socially distance (using your example).

The guidance was also attempting to factor in "fully vaccinated" people into that mix by introducing "other people" with you in a "small gathering", where the "fully vaccinated" could gather in a small outdoors setting without a mask and the unvaccinated can supposedly go "maskless" too but ONLY IF the others in that group are "fully vaccinated". If any others in the small group is not "fully vaccinated", then the unvaccinated in the group needs to wear a mask - EVEN if the event is "outside".

[CreekDog]

30. yes it's a change because you no longer have to social distance outdoors

the rules were basically the same outside in California too.

you had to wear a mask when you were within 6 feet of someone outside your household.

now you don't have to wear masks outside at all except in crowded environments.

it actually makes a big difference.

for example, i watch movies in my friend's yard and we usually sit apart 6 feet or so, but now, no worries about masks even if we sit closer.

i'm fully vaxxed now and he's got the first shot, so we're moving this inside unmasked very soon except on nice days.

and we were avoiding card games and dominoes but now that's gonna restart.

i'll take this progress, been waiting for it.

we never had the level of outbreak here in the Bay Area largely because people were careful.

[cannabis_flower]

23. Do you think ....

This means we can go without a mask at the drive-thru now? Recently I’ve been thinking I might not need to since we are already several feet apart and the drive-thru guy has a plexiglass shield with an opening of about a foot to pass the foot and drinks through.

[BumRushDaShow]

24. I would think so, assuming you are fully vaccinated.

The regular drive-thru panels (depending on whether they are either a small slot or a sliding window) should normally reduce particulates vs just picking up something at an open counter with no barrier... and any small amount that you might suck out from the inside of the facility across the "void" would probably be minuscule and would dissipate or only be a tiny viral load that your body could handle.

[cannabis_flower]

25. Yes!

Fully vaccinated since January 21. I had been wondering if I really needed a mask at the drive thru. I really hate wearing a mask but I’ve been doing it religiously (except when I’m outside walking alone or with my husband). I really hate wearing the mask because I know I can breathe through it but when I have it on I feel like I can’t breathe. And it fogs up my glasses and makes me feel hot.

[CreekDog]

31. yes you can unless the business requires you to be masked to be served

if they do, and they can, that is beyond the CDC recommendation but it's their right to do so.

[cannabis_flower]

33. Absolutely!

[riversedge]

28. slowly

[OhioChick]

35. Sorry....not happening in my household

We have new variants emerging.