Public health experts support CDC guidance on vaccinated people
Original article from The Boston Globe , 2021
Public health specialists on Monday voiced support for new guidelines from the CDC indicating that people fully-vaccinated against COVID-19 can gather with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or distancing.
The recommendations also say vaccinated people can mix with people considered at low-risk for severe disease; think vaccinated grandparents visiting healthy children and grandchildren.
“I think what the CDC has done is, they’re following the evidence,” said Dr. Joshua Barocas, an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center who also teaches at the BU School of Medicine, in a phone interview.
Barocas said the notion that fully vaccinated people can now spend time with one another indoors “is consistent with the evidence,” which shows the vaccine can reduce the risk of transmission by a person who’s vaccinated.
“This is a huge step in our return to normalcy,” Barocas said, adding that the guidelines could also serve as “a potential incentive” for eligible people to get vaccinated, even if they’ve been reluctant to date.
Dr. Paul Sax, clinical director of the infectious diseases division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in a separate interview that the new guidelines are “appropriate” and based on data from clinical studies. The CDC, he said, isn’t suggesting Americans “should go to crowded bars and restaurants,” but the agency is highlighting a path forward for people who’ve dealt with prolonged stretches of isolation during the pandemic.
“That’s a very positive message,” he said of the guidelines, which he described as “a summation of the science as we understand it now.”