On Monday the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued new guidelines that have grandparents nationwide rejoicing, putting visits with the grandchildren and family reunions once again into family schedules. That’s because it announced that fully vaccinated adults can once again be in contact with small numbers of non-vaccinated individuals.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky says the guidelines are fluid, and people should expect that guidelines will continue to be clarified. This is the first set of public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people. This guidance will be updated and expanded based on the level of community spread of COVID-19, the proportion of the population that is fully vaccinated, and the rapidly evolving science on COVID-19 vaccines.
That loosening of restrictions means that America’s seniors can see their grandchildren, give and receive hugs, dine inside in small groups and begin — finally — to experience a bit of “normal”. It does not mean that we all get to burn our face masks. At the moment, the CDC is discouraging travel, so if your grandchildren live in Virginia, you might want to wait a few weeks before planning that trip.
Image courtesy of Unsplash
In fact, the DC guidelines caution: “Indoor visits between fully vaccinated people and unvaccinated people who do not wear masks or physically distant from one another are likely low risk for the vaccinated people.” It hasn’t yet ruled on whether full-vaccinated people might still be able to infect un-vaccinated people with COVID.
Therefore, reads the guideline, “the level of precautions taken should be determined by the characteristics of the unvaccinated people, who remain unprotected against COVID-19.”
Social distancing guidelines still apply: wear a face mask, maintain six feet distance from others, avoid crowds.
While vaccinations got off to a slow start in the U.S., the pace has picked up considerably. According to the CDC, as of Monday, 60 million people in the United States having received one shot and more than 31 million people have been fully vaccinated as of Monday, or about 9 percent of the population, according to the CDC.
Here in Chaffee County, Chaffee County Public Health (CCPH) Director Andrea Carlstrom says that the pace of vaccinations is increasing too, with more than 1,300 administered on a single day last week.
“On Friday, CCPH administered more than 900 vaccinations, HRRMC (Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical center) did more than 300 and BV Pharmacy did another 120 vaccinations. Right now Chaffee is the fourth highest in the state for percent of residents vaccinated. Given the other three are tiny counties with like 900 population, I think we’re doing the best in the state,” said Carlstrom.
On Saturday, a recorded 2.9 million doses were administered. On average, the daily rate of vaccination has risen to about 2.2 million people. President Biden has vowed to have enough supply for every adult who wants a shot by late May, raising hopes of a return to normal life.
The CDC-provided guidelines relaxing restrictions for vaccinated people “may help improve COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and uptake,” the CDC says. “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 virus to others.”
Featured image: Long-awaited hugs from our grandchildren appear once again to be possible for fully-vaccinated grandparents. Photo by Ekaterina Shakharova for Unsplash.
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