The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday announced revised travel guidelines for people fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The health agency said that vaccinated individuals can safely travel at "low risk", lifting the earlier guidance that advised all Americans to avoid non-essential travel. However, CDC director Rochelle Walensky, at a separate White House briefing, advocated against “general travel overall”.
“Our guidance is silent on recommending or not recommending fully vaccinated people travel; our guidance speaks to the safety of doing so. If you are vaccinated, it’s lower risk,” said Walensky.
The United States has administered more than 153 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines so far. Last week, US President Joe Biden announced a new vaccination goal of 200 million Covid-19 shots within his first 100 days in office.
Here are key points of the latest travel guidelines released by CDC:
1. People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose regimen, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.
2. Fully vaccinated travellers are less likely to get and spread Covid-19 and can travel safely within the United States.
3. They do not need to get tested before or after the travel unless their destination requires it.
{{/usCountry}}3. They do not need to get tested before or after the travel unless their destination requires it.
{{/usCountry}}4. Fully vaccinated travellers do not need to self-quarantine.
5. People who have recovered from Covid-19 in the past 3 months do not need to get tested or self-quarantine.
6. They should still follow CDC’s recommendations for safe travel, including wearing a mask over and staying 6 feet away from others.
7. Fully vaccinated individuals should self-monitor for Covid-19 symptoms after travel and isolate and get tested if they develop symptoms.
8. People with a condition or who are taking medication that weakens their immune system may not be fully protected even if they are fully vaccinated. Such individuals may need to continue taking all precautions even after getting fully vaccinated.
9. Unvaccinated individuals should get tested 1-3 days before their trip.
10. They should get also tested 3-5 days after travel and stay home and self-quarantine for a full 7 days after travel.