Fully vaccinated people who meet certain criteria no longer need to quarantine when exposed to the Chinese coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed in a February 10 guidance.

In a section listing public health recommendations for vaccinated people, the CDC states that fully vaccinated people who meet certain criteria no longer have to quarantine if they are exposed to someone who has either contracted the virus or has been exposed to it.

CDC criteria include those who:

  • Are fully vaccinated (i.e., ≥2 weeks following receipt of the second dose in a 2-dose series, or ≥2 weeks following receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine)
  • Are within 3 months following receipt of the last dose in the series
  • Have remained asymptomatic since the current COVID-19 exposure

However, the CDC stresses that those who do not meet all the requirements listed should “continue to follow current quarantine guidance” if exposed to the Wuhan virus. Current CDC guidance advises those who have been exposed should quarantine for 14 days but notes that local health officials could consider modifying the recommendation to ten days with testing or to seven days following a negative test result.

The CDC also reiterates that the risk of a vaccinated person transmitting the virus still remains uncertain but adds that “vaccination has been demonstrated to prevent symptomatic COVID-19.”

“Symptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission is thought to have a greater role in transmission than purely asymptomatic transmission,” the CDC states, acknowledging the “individual and societal benefits” of avoiding “unnecessary” quarantine.

“This recommendation to waive quarantine for people with vaccine-derived immunity aligns with quarantine recommendations for those with natural immunity, which eases implementation,” the CDC adds.

The recommendation coincides with a decline in average daily cases of the virus in the U.S. The CDC, however, is also recommending Americans to add “layers” to their masks, including double masking.

“Use a cloth mask that has multiple layers of fabric,” the CDC says in a guidance aimed to help people improve the efficiency of their face coverings.

“Wear one disposable mask underneath a cloth mask,” the CDC adds. “The second mask should push the edges of the inner mask against your face.”

According to the CDC’s February 10 data, 44,769,970 doses of the vaccine have been administered in the United States.