CDC loosens mask rules for the vaccinated

A retirement party may be in sight for the most obvious sign of the global pandemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said fully vaccinated people could safely stop social distancing and wearing masks in most indoor settings and all outdoor ones. The agency only recommended they continue wearing masks inside in places such as planes, buses, hospitals, prisons, and homeless shelters. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky also recommended some high-risk individuals talk to their doctors before ditching masks. People still need to follow local health guidelines.

How many people could stop covering their faces? The CDC defines a fully vaccinated person as anyone who is two weeks past their last required shot. As of Thursday, that’s more than 117 million Americans. And about 154 million, or more than 45 percent of the population, have received at least one dose of a vaccine. Daily new infections in the United States have hit their lowest point since September, and deaths are at the lowest since April 2020.

Dig deeper: Listen to Bonnie Pritchett’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about the man who diagnosed the first U.S. COVID-19 case.