United States: CDC Announces Fully-Vaccinated Americans No Longer Need to Wear Masks In Most Situations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), the national public health agency of the United States, announced on Thursday that vaccinated Americans are no longer recommended to wear masks.

“Today, CDC is updating our guidance for fully vaccinated people: Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky informed reporters. “If you are fully vaccinated, you are protected, and you can start doing the things that you stopped doing because of the pandemic.”

"Based on the continuing downward trajectory of cases, the scientific data on the performance of our vaccines and our understanding of how the virus spreads," Dr.Walensky said, "that moment has come for those who are fully vaccinated."

The new recommendation is proof that the vaccines are working extraordinarily well, the CDC director added. She cited several studies from the U.S. and Israel that demonstrated vaccines are more than 90 percent effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19.

The CDC guidance however will continue to advice Americans vaccinated for coronavirus to wear masks in crowded indoor settings, such as public transportation, hospitals, and prisons, but not schools or offices. Vaccinated people do not need to wear masks outdoors at all, according to the guidance.

Little more than 58 percent of American adults have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose. More than 35 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.