As more and more Americans receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC is expected to release new guidance about what kind of gatherings and social interactions are safe for fully vaccinated people.
Being fully vaccinated means two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, and two weeks after the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
During a White House COVID-19 team briefing on Friday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky again promised that more guidance for those who have been vaccinated is coming "soon," but did not provide a specific date for its release. She advised that the agency was taking its time releasing guidance because it wants to ensure Americans will be able to safely act on that guidance.
Doctors around the country are being asked for information on what patients can do once they are fully vaccinated; can they visit their grandkids? Can they be in a crowd? Can they have a few friends over? Can they give people hugs?
"I think people need practical advice about how to go about their everyday lives," Julia Marcus, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Harvard told CNN. "I think without guidance, people may make decisions that are not informed."
The Biden administration told reporters they have been working on these guidelines for weeks, and they are expected to be released any day now.
No vaccine is 100% effective at preventing illness, and those who have been vaccinated may still contract COVID-19, as two people recently did in Oregon, and they could transmit the virus to others.
Health experts have been warning that even fully vaccinated people should still wear a mask and social distance when possible to protect others and themselves.
