The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 8 released public health guidance for fully vaccinated people outside of health care settings.
Individuals who received the single-dose Janssen vaccine are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the shot, and those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna two-dose vaccines are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second dose.
According to the guidelines, fully vaccinated people can visit indoors with other fully vaccinated people without masks or physical distancing. They also can visit indoors, without masks and physical distance precautions, with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19. After COVID-19 exposure, fully vaccinated people do not need to quarantine and test if they are asymptomatic; however, they should monitor for symptoms for 14 days following exposure.
CDC urges fully vaccinated people to continue wearing masks and following physical distancing precautions when:
- in public;
- visiting unvaccinated people with an increased risk for severe COVID-19;
- visiting a household with an unvaccinated household member with increased risk for severe COVID-19; and
- visiting unvaccinated people from multiple households at the same time.
Fully vaccinated people should continue to avoid medium and large in-person gatherings, get tested if they experience COVID-19 symptoms, and follow guidance and travel requirements from their employers, CDC, and local and state health departments.
Hospitals Invited to Pilot New COVID-19 Learning Series
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) invites hospitals to share feedback on a new online learning series developed specifically for hospitals.
The new COVID-19 StAT (Standards, Approaches and Tactics) for COVID-19 Infection Control and Prevention Learning Series for Hospital Clinical Staff and Leaders is a series of interactive, self-paced learning modules intended to help hospital clinicians and leaders refine their infection prevention skills and learn new tools to respond to COVID-19 surges for 2021 and beyond. The series is tailored to infection prevention teams in hospitals of all sizes, including small, rural, and critical access facilities.
The first four modules are available for pilot testing. Each learning module takes about 15 minutes to complete, followed by a short assessment. Testers can receive participation certificates upon completion to demonstrate their commitment and expertise. Feedback will help CMS choose topics for the remaining 10 modules in the series and will help ensure the format is effective and convenient for hospital clinical staff and leaders.
Register online by March 18 to participate in the pilot testing. Contact DVACSupport@thebizzellgroup.com with questions about the pilot testing.
Visit the America’s Essential Hospitals coronavirus resource page for more information about the pandemic.
Contact Senior Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
