The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced revised travel guidelines on Friday for people fully vaccinated against coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The health agency said those vaccinated can travel safely at “low risk,” lifting previous guidelines that recommended all Americans avoid non-essential travel. However, CDC director Rochelle Walensky at another White House briefing spoke out against “travel in general.”
“Our advice is silent on whether or not to recommend travel to fully immunized people; our tips talk about the safety of doing so. If you are vaccinated, the risk is lower, ”said Walensky.
To date, the United States has administered more than 153 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Last week, US President Joe Biden announced a new vaccination target of 200 million vaccines against Covid-19 during his first 100 days in office.
Here are the highlights of the latest travel guidelines published by CDC:
1. People are considered to be fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose schedule, such as Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.
2. Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to contract and spread Covid-19 and can travel safely to the United States.
3. They do not need to be tested before or after travel, unless their destination requires it.
4. Fully vaccinated travelers do not need to self-quarantine.
5. People who have recovered from Covid-19 in the past 3 months do not need to be tested or self-quarantined.
6. They should always follow CDC recommendations for safe travel, including wearing a mask and staying 6 feet from others.
7. Fully vaccinated people should self-monitor for symptoms of Covid-19 after travel and self-isolate and get tested if they develop symptoms.
8. People with an illness or taking medicines that weaken their immune system may not be fully protected even if they are fully immunized. These people may need to continue taking all precautions even after being fully immunized.
9. Unvaccinated people should be tested 1 to 3 days before their trip.
10. They should also be tested 3-5 days after travel and stay home and quarantine for a full 7 days after travel.