WASHINGTON: In a move to send the country back toward pre-pandemic life, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday eased indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to safely stop wearing masks inside in most places
"Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told a White House briefing on Thursday.
"If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic. "We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy," Walensky said. The mask mandate was cancelled after Walensky faced criticism for the CDC being too slow to provide a path back to normalcy for fully vaccinated people.
She has defended the CDC's approach as scientifically-based to ensure protection not just for individuals but also the entire American population. There have been reports of "breakthrough" infections among vaccinated people in the US.
Walensky noted that "the resulting infection is more likely to have a lower viral load, may be shorter in duration, and likely less risk of transmission to others".
Meanwhile, the requirement to wear masks during travel, on buses, trains, planes and public transportation, still stands, Walensky said, and the guidance for travel will be updated as science emerges.
Israel shows big heart, will bear the full expenses of Kerala's Soumya Santosh's family
Russia: Funerals Held for nine Victims of Russian School Attack
China pushes for United Nation to Act on Israel-Palestinian Conflict