Then, two weeks ago, the CDC said that fully vaccinated Americans could safely ditch their masks in spacious outdoor settings.
The CDC has to consider every situation before it can issue guidance, she said.
We are responsible for putting out guidance for counties that have less than five cases per 100,000 and for counties that have greater than 100 cases per 100,000, as well as for counties that have less than 10% of people vaccinated and counties that have more than 50% of people vaccinated.
Our guidance has to be science-based for all of these situations," Walensky said.
MORE: The risks unvaccinated Americans are weighing.At the same time, risks for fully vaccinated Americans are already very different.Marr, who is fully vaccinated, said she'd now be comfortable indoor dining, going to a grocery store without a mask on, or attending an outdoor barbeque mask-less, with people who are both vaccinated and unvaccinated -- though she would follow the rules in her community.William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said vaccinated people should feel confident indoors even in congregate settings, so long as they're not immunocompromised, and be comfortable ditching their masks around children.Whereas unvaccinated people, they still need to be cautious for their own good, and for the good of others," he said.
MORE: CDC says fully vaccinated Americans can safely travel, but still recommends against nonessential trips.It's difficult to enforce masks for unvaccinated people while no longer requiring them for fully vaccinated people, largely because it's awkward to single people out.But, Shaffner said, an important part of ushering in the "new normal" is to "formally, in recommendations, permit the vaccinated people to behave much more as they did pre-COVID, because we have so much confidence in the vaccines.".
If we're going to get more people vaccinated, you have to reward them," Schaffner said.
"I'm worried that if we don't relax restrictions, then people say, 'What's the point of getting the vaccine?'" said Allen.If we then don't pull back controls when it's time to pull back, we lose credibility," he said.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday said that Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese met with principal leaders of the interagency group tackling the Colonial Pipeline situation.
The Biden administration said during a Senate hearing Tuesday that the government has enough funding to buy booster shots if needed.
A car matching the description of one belonging to a Texas mother who went missing three weeks ago was found in a pond with a body inside, authorities said Tuesday.Information gathered from the FBI led authorities to a retention pond in Pearland, southeast of Houston, where they searched the area and "found a location that was consistent with a vehicle striking the curb and entering a body of water at the end of the road," Houston Police Department Commander Kevin Deese said during a press briefing Tuesday evening.
Customs and Border Protection said in a press release