“By April,” it will be “open season, and practically anyone in any category could start getting vaccinated,” noted Fauci.
Despite the good news, he warned that it will be “a few more months” before the Americans are actually shot, but herd immunity could be achieved by late summer. As of Monday, more than 70 million doses had been distributed while nearly 53 million Americans had been vaccinated. More than 14 million people got their second shot.
Meanwhile, fully vaccinated Americans can skip quarantines if exposed to someone infected with COVID-19.
“Fully vaccinated people who meet criteria do not need to be quarantined after exposure to people with COVID-19,” said the updated guidelines from the US Centers for the Control and Prevention of Health, which were published on their website on Wednesday Diseases.
There was one caveat: at least two weeks must have passed since the second shot, as it takes so long for full immunity to build up. However, according to the CDC, it is not known how long the protection will last. As such, people who had their last shot three months or more ago should continue to be quarantined if they are exposed or showing symptoms, the agency added.
“This recommendation to lift the quarantine for people with vaccine immunity is consistent with the quarantine recommendations for people with natural immunity,” said the CDC. People who have been vaccinated should watch out for symptoms for 14 days after exposure to someone who is infected, the agency added.
That doesn’t mean vaccinated people should stop practicing social distancing, the CDC noted.
“At this time, vaccinated individuals should continue to follow current guidelines to protect themselves and others, including wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet apart, avoiding crowds, avoiding poorly ventilated rooms, covering up coughs, and Sneezing and frequent hand washing. Follow CDC travel guidelines and any applicable work or school guidelines, including guidelines for using personal protective equipment or SARS-CoV-2 testing, “the agency said.
A global scourge
As of Monday, the number of U.S. coronavirus cases was 27.6 million, while the death toll was 485,000, according to a Times tally. As of Monday, the five most common states for coronavirus infections were: California with nearly 3.5 million cases; Texas with more than 2.5 million cases; Florida with over 1.8 million cases; New York with more than 1.5 million cases; and Illinois with over 1.1 million cases.
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