--- title: CDC: Vaccinated People Can Go Maskless in Private Gatherings description: The agency on March 8 released its first guidelines for which activities are safe for people who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. canonical: https://time.com/5945003/cdc-guidelines-vaccinated-people/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-03-08T19:10:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:10:27.443Z article:section: Health og:title: CDC Says Vaccinated People Can Stop Wearing Masks in Private Gatherings og:description: The agency on March 8 released its first guidelines for which activities are safe for people who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. og:url: https://time.com/5945003/cdc-guidelines-vaccinated-people/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27e763945d993a67/698a17c18fd2ee594f3625a7/GettyImages-1218241666.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6720 og:image:height: 3780 og:image:alt: Surgical mask on white background og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: CDC Says Vaccinated People Can Stop Wearing Masks in Private Gatherings twitter:description: The agency on March 8 released its first guidelines for which activities are safe for people who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27e763945d993a67/698a17c18fd2ee594f3625a7/GettyImages-1218241666.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # CDC Says Vaccinated People Can Stop Wearing Masks in Private Gatherings > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=0fc21bad-00c9-4d7d-a719-78a53566322f&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Tracking the Vaccine: From Freezer to Front Line [Watch (HLS stream): Tracking the Vaccine: From Freezer to Front Line](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0dwzz5K2.m3u8) (4:28)  _Published 2021-01-20. TIME followed the vaccination process from a Walgreens freezer to a long-term care facility to see what the roll out can look like._  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Mar 8, 2021 7:10 PM UTC  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Mar 8, 2021 7:10 PM UTC In its first set of advice for [people who have been vaccinated](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html#anchor%5F1615143382229) against COVID-19, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said March 8 that these people can visit others, indoors and without masks or socially distancing, under specific conditions. Fully vaccinated people—which the agency defines as those who are at least two weeks out from their last dose—can visit other fully vaccinated people in private settings, indoors, without masks or socially distancing. Vaccinated health care workers and residents of long term care facilities, for example, can enjoy a meal together or have conversations indoors without having to wear masks or stay six feet apart. Fully vaccinated people can also visit with unvaccinated people as long as the unvaccinated people are at low risk of COVID-19 disease. So grandparents who are vaccinated can visit their children or grandchildren in a household, as long as their children and grandchildren don’t have high-risk jobs or an underlying health condition that puts them at greater risk of infection or illness. Under these conditions, everyone can meet without masks and they don’t need to be socially distanced from one another. The CDC also says that anyone who is fully vaccinated does not need to quarantine or get tested after a potential exposure to COVID-19, as long as they do not show any symptoms. If they do show symptoms, they would still need to self-isolate and get tested, even if they’ve been fully vaccinated. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said during a March 8 briefing that the new recommendations are “just a first step. As more people are vaccinated and the science and evidence expands, and the disease dynamics change, we will continue to update the guidance.” The current advice, which the agency called “interim,” applies only to private gatherings with individual households, since in those situations, people would in theory be more aware of who might be at higher risk of getting sick, and who might be at higher risk of getting exposed to the virus, than they would be of those outside their households. The guidelines are just that—guidelines—and will likely generate more questions than answers for now. Could large families with unvaccinated members from different households gather together with fully vaccinated grandparents indoors they way they did before the pandemic? That’s not entirely clear, since the CDC does not specify the number of people that’s ideal for such situations, because that data isn’t directly available yet. That’s why the agency is advising people who are vaccinated to continue to wear masks, practice social distancing and avoid large crowds and gatherings in public settings. And, in situations where a fully vaccinated individual wants to visit with someone who is unvaccinated and at high risk of COVID-19, the visit should occur outdoors with six feet of distance between the two, and both people should wear a mask. Over 90% of the U.S. population remains unvaccinated, and while the shots are highly effective in protecting vaccinated people from getting very sick with COVID-19, vaccinated people have shown symptoms of COVID-19, and it’s not clear yet whether those people can then spread the virus to others. That’s why vaccinated people are still urged to refrain from traveling as well. “We remain in the midst of a serious pandemic, where more than 90% of the population is not fully vaccinated,” Walensky said. “Everyone, whether they are vaccinated or not, should continue to avoid medium- to large-sized gatherings, as well as non-essential travel. In public spaces, they should continue to wear a well-fitting mask, physically distance and follow other measures to protect themselves and others. We believe the new recommendations are important first steps in efforts to resume everyday activities in our community.” ## Transcript But I am very excited that you finally come up with a vaccine. I feel the weight of it that this is going to do some good for us. And you know that I'm ready for it to start happening. You know, waiting to be in line to get my shot to. Just all the way to the Yankees or. Don't sign for Colbert. So they don't say. I actually. The biggest challenge has been temperature requirements, because that has to be kept at ultracold temperature of negative seven degrees Celsius. Or if we are transporting in a refrigeration, we have a lot more monitoring for that because it's only good for so many hours if the temperature excursion happens. And then there is a lot of responsibility in terms of liability. This vaccine has been very popular, so we have security protocols. We are putting SEALs when they're transporting. We have cameras installed specifically for this over and. Yeah. And be sorry. All right. Keep your arm relaxed. Oh, just the needle all done. You're not even bleeding. So my grandmother actually just passed away, I mean, less than two months ago from it. So to be out here protecting other people's grandparents is really touching me personally. Like, I really appreciate the opportunity and just so happy to be a part of it. The staff members here, we have about 240 that we're doing. We can get through usually with this many immunizations, 40 or 50 an hour at this facility specifically, we have over 100 residents that are all room to room based. So that takes a little more time. And then have you ever had a reaction after receiving a vaccine in the past? I can see how grateful they are. And I'm just grateful and honored to be able to give them the vaccine for me to be able to do it directly. You know, the last patient I just did, she's like, I'm waiting for the vaccine. And I was like, I'm here with the vaccine. And she's like, You're here with the vaccine. So I'm part of the bigger movement of vaccinating basically America. And that's it. Well, that's the easiest one I ever had. I'm glad with hay fever, I was you know, they can't come and visit me and I can't go visit them. But it's. Oh, gosh, it makes me mad anyway. It really is hard. And it's been harder for a lot of other people who have lost folks. And so I haven't had that problem, but it's awful. So I will mask myself any time to prevent that from happening. When I was a kid, everybody knew people who had somebody in their family that had polio. Any vaccine that prevents unnecessary pain and suffering is a good thing to have. All right. I'm just going to sanitize your arm real quick. I am happy that my son sometimes he talks to me on Facebook on face time. This time. And my daughter calls me every night. I know I can touch them and see them, but I just think the time will come. I hope. I hope I'm still alive. 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