The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released long-awaited Guidance this morning regarding permissible activities and relaxed precautions for individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. An individual is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second shot of a two-dose vaccine (e.g., Pfizer or Moderna), or two weeks after receiving the single-dose vaccine (e.g., Johnson & Johnson).
Specifically, today’s CDC Guidance states that fully vaccinated individuals may:
- Gather indoors with other fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask;
- 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; and
- Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure to COVID-19 if asymptomatic.
Related to employment, the Guidance critically states that fully vaccinated people should:
- Continue to wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households; and
- Continue to follow guidance issued by individual employers;
- Continue to avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings; and
- Continue to follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations.
In addition, according to the Guidance, “fully vaccinated employees of non-healthcare congregate settings and other high-density workplaces (e.g., meat and poultry processing and manufacturing plants) with no COVID-like symptoms do not need to quarantine following an exposure; however testing following an exposure and through routine workplace screening programs (if present) is still recommended.”
Contact experienced counsel before changing any employment or business operations policies or practices based on today’s guidance.