On 4/27/21, Federal health officials stated that fully vaccinated people can go without masks outdoors, except when in crowded settings. Officials still caution that crowded outdoor settings pose risks and urge everyone, vaccinated and unvaccinated, to wear masks when attending sporting events, live performances, and parades.
Currently, 52% of eligible people have gotten at least one shot. Unfortunately, some of those that got their first shot have not gotten their second shot because of various reasons. Some felt that they didn’t need the second dose, others didn’t have a way to get it, and others because the location where they got their first shot had not gotten a second batch during the timeline. Some have now been trying to find a location for their second shot, now that the availability has increased. One location in Vancouver, WA put a sign outside on Tuesday to state “Shots Available. No Appt Necessary” because not enough people had registered.
The change in stance has mainly been to help those vaccinated individuals to try to get back to their normal routine, while encouraging others to get their shots.
Some of the thought process is, “taking steps toward relaxing certain measures for vaccinated people may help improve coronavirus vaccine acceptance and uptake… Therefore, there are several activities that fully vaccinated people can resume now, at low risk to themselves, while being mindful of the potential risk of transmitting the disease to others.”
The guidance includes a color-coded chart that shows activities that fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people can do indoors and outdoors, and which ones can be done without masks. The safest activities, highlighted in green, are outdoors in small gatherings. This does not include every activity in every community, but it is a good starting point to follow.
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