Fully vaccinated individuals in the US can now safely enjoy more pre-pandemic activities without wearing a mask, suggest new guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fully vaccinated individuals are defined as those for whom at least two weeks have passed since the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or at least two weeks have passed since the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. These people can now avoid a mask while dining at an outdoor restaurant with friends from several households, stated the CDC. They can also avoid wearing a mask at small outdoor gatherings with other fully vaccinated family members and friends, or where there is a mix of fully vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated that an increasing amount of data suggest that most of the transmission is happening indoors rather than outdoors, and that less than 10% of the transmission in many studies has taken place outdoors… (CNN, April 28, 2021)