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On July 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People CDPH supports these updated guidance documents, and recommendations are summarized below. Fully vaccinated persons remain subject to additional requirements in particular settings, such as healthcare, K12 schools and childcare, and high-risk congregate settings.

Overview

Currently, authorized vaccines in the United States are highly effective at protecting vaccinated people against symptomatic and severe COVID-19. A growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infection and potentially less likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others. How long vaccine protection lasts and how much vaccines protect against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants are still under investigation. Until more is known and vaccination coverage increases, prevention measures will continue to be necessary for all people, regardless of vaccination status.

With the emergence of the more contagious Delta variant in California which now accounts for over 80% of cases sequenced, cases and hospitalizations of COVID-19 are rising throughout the state, especially amongst those that remain unvaccinated.

Local health jurisdictions may be more restrictive than this guidance.

In workplaces, employers are subject to the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) or in some workplaces the CalOSHA Aerosol Transmissible Diseases Standard, and fully vaccinated individuals should consult those regulations for additional applicable requirements in the workplace. Employers must follow the CDPH and Local Health Jurisdiction requirements where they exceed the Cal/OSHA standards.

Who is considered a fully vaccinated person?

For the purposes of this guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19: two weeks or more after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), two weeks or more after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson [J&J]/Janssen), or two weeks after receipt of another vaccine authorized by the Wold Health Organization (WHO).*

Individuals currently in U.S. vaccine clinical trials are unvaccinated until the trial has concluded. For people who participated in a clinical trial of the U.S. based AstraZeneca or Novavax COVID-19 vaccines and have received the full series of the “active” vaccine, the participant can be considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after they completed the vaccine series. 

Key Points

Fully vaccinated people:

• Can resume activities that they did prior to the pandemic.

• Must follow mandatory provisions in CDPH's Face Coverings Guidance.

• Are recommended to wear a mask in indoor public settings. This adds an extra precautionary measure for all to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, especially in communities currently seeing the highest transmission rates due to the emerging Delta variant.
  

• Should consider wearing a mask in indoor non-public settings, particularly if they are immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease from COVID-19, or if they have someone in their household who is immunocompromised, at increased risk of severe disease, not fully vaccinated, or not yet eligible for vaccination.

• If asymptomatic, can refrain from quarantine following a known exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. Fully vaccinated persons are recommended to be tested 5-7 days after exposure and wear a mask in public indoor settings for 14 days.

• Should follow CDPH and local health department recommendations regarding isolation and/or exclusion from high risk settings if they test positive for SARS-CoV-2, and must follow any mandatory requirements from local health departments.
  

• Should follow CDC, local and state health department travel recommendations, and must follow any mandatory requirements.

• Must follow any CDPH, local, or federal public health orders pertaining to specific settings.

These recommendations and requirements apply to fully vaccinated people, and currently there is no duration limitation on these recommendations after individuals are fully vaccinated.

For additional information visit CDC's related Science Brief: Background Rationale and Evidence for Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People.

*This guidance applies to COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for use:

• By the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as listed at the FDA COVID-19 Vaccines webpage.
  

• By the World Health Organization (WHO), as listed at the WHO COVID-19 Vaccines webpage.
  

Originally Published on April 15, 2021