USA: Fully vaccinated people can travel

In its latest updated guidance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States has announced a significant easing of restrictions for those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The changes to travel restrictions are as follows:

• Fully vaccinated people can resume domestic travel and do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
• Fully vaccinated people do not need to get tested before leaving the United States (unless required by the destination) or self-quarantine after arriving back in the United States.

The new rules applies to anyone who has received a full dosage of a COVID-19 vaccine, which is one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

The new guidance comes as the result of recent research, which shows that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are very effective at preventing infections in real-world conditions. According to the data, even a single dose of either vaccine prevents 80 percent of infections, while two doses prevent 90 percent of infections. Scientific research has also proven that vaccines offer significant protection against asymptomatic infections.

In addition, fully vaccinated people can now:

• Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
• Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
• Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic
• Resume domestic travel and refrain from testing before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
• Refrain from testing before leaving the United States for international travel (unless required by the destination) and refrain from self-quarantine after arriving back in the United States.

However, they should still continue to:

• Take precautions in public like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing
• Wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease
• Wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households
• Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings
• Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
• Follow guidance issued by individual employers
• Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations