LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The CDC has issued new guidance for people who are considered fully vaccinated, which includes allowing them to gather indoors with other people who have also received their vaccines without masks or social distancing.
The CDC defines someone has been fully vaccinated if it has been two weeks since a person has received either their second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or their only dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
According to the CDC guidelines, people who are fully vaccinated can also gather indoors without masks and distancing with unvaccinated people who are not at high risk for severe disease.
If they are with unvaccinated people who are considered to be high risk, they should still wear masks indoors and stay at least six feet apart.
"I'm not going to be checking everyone's vaccine cards, so for a while, you're really going to be reliant on this is family and friends, people you know well," UofL Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jason Smith said. "You can have some extended visits to family members who may be at low risk for disease transmission, those types of things."
The CDC also said people who are fully vaccinated do not need to quarantine and get tested for COVID-19 after coming in contact with someone who has the coronavirus, though this only applies if the person has not shown any symptoms and it is within three months of the final dose.
"I think it's important for people to understand that if you have the vaccine, that is a step towards getting back to more interaction and more social connection," Smith said.
Wednesday will mark one year since UofL Health saw its first coronavirus patient. Since then, UofL Health has admitted 2,591 COVID-19 positive patients and has seen 310 COVID-19 related deaths. It has had 1,079 employees test positive for the coronavirus and has since administered around 40,000 vaccines.
"It is really hard to come in and see these patients every day," UofL Health physician Dr. Sally Suliman said. "It's a challenge to speak with patients who have COVID who don't know what's going to happen to them."
"You simply have to turn a corner, walk into a unit and you can see someone who has done something extraordinary," Smith said.
More information can be found on the CDC website.