People who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus can travel without putting themselves at serious risk as long as they wear masks and take other precautions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday, moderating its blanket stance against travel.
The new guidance comes as studies have shown that Covid-19 vaccines have been effective in real-world conditions at reducing the risk of infections with or without symptoms.
Despite the CDC’s determination that travel is a low-risk activity for people who have been vaccinated, officials still advise against it as Covid-19 cases rise in the U.S.
“It’s our responsibility at the CDC to look at the evolving evidence of what is lower risk to do when you are fully vaccinated,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday. But with the majority of the population still not vaccinated and cases on the rise, “I would advocate against general travel overall,” she said.
The CDC last month relaxed some of its safety guidelines for inoculated individuals, but continued to caution against unnecessary trips. Dr. Walensky has pleaded with people to avoid nonessential travel in recent weeks, citing surges in case numbers that have followed holiday periods when travel picked up.
