Vaccinated Americans don't need a mask most of the time, CDC says

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wanted to avoid its new mask guidance leaking ahead of time, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said Thursday.

The CDC announced Thursday that people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 no longer need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, in most circumstances.

In response to reports that the White House did not have much advance warning that the CDC was planning to update its guidance today, Collins said, “Well, it apparently was the case that the CDC was making this decision and didn't want to have any big sort of leaking happen, so this is sometimes the way things go.”

White House officials, like many Americans around the nation, seemed to embrace the new guidance, Collins noted.

“It’s clearly electrified the country,” Collins added. “The White House played a pretty good role in that by changing their schedule and having the President and the vice president come right on out without their masks into the Rose Garden, to indicate – in a very photogenic way – what's happened.”

 

Bill Maher, the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," has tested positive for coronavirus, the show announced in a tweet Thursday evening. 

"Bill tested positive during weekly staff PCR testing for COVID," the show announced. "He is fully vaccinated and as a result is asymptomatic and feels fine." 

Due to Maher's positive test result, the show's taping scheduled for Friday has been canceled and will be rescheduled at a later date, the show said. 

"Real Time production has taken every precaution following COVID CDC guidelines," the show said. "No other staff or crew members have tested positive at this time."

CNN has reached out to HBO for comment. HBO is owned by WarnerMedia, the parent company of CNN.

The CDC’s guidance that fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks indoors is being adopted by Nevada, including in the state’s casinos.

“The updated guidance on masks issued today by the CDC is effective immediately in Nevada,” the governor’s office announced Thursday.

Gov. Steve Sisolak signed a measure on May 3 ordering that the state’s mask mandate must mirror CDC guidelines, and his office confirmed that this directive includes the agency’s recommendations issued Thursday.

The state’s critical gaming industry – whose major Vegas casino floors were allowed to return to 100% capacity just this month – also will be allowed to let their guests to go without masks if they choose.

Michael Lawton with the Nevada Gaming Control Board tells CNN, “The Board neither requires nor prohibits gaming licensees from confirming patron vaccination status. Licensees are encouraged to post signage with the latest CDC mask guidance for vaccinated and unvaccinated guests.”

The board says casinos are allowed to have tighter mask restrictions than what the CDC recommends for their guests and employees.

CNN has reached out to MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn.

 

National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said he’s smiling and he hopes new mask guidance for vaccinated people will encourage more Americans to get immunized.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 no longer need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors in most circumstances.

“We should all feel really good about this, but we're not at the end of this story,” Collins told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “There's still a lot of people who haven't gotten that first shot. I hope this will encourage them to see this as a wonderful opportunity to be liberated, as I now am.”

Collins said he is enjoying the freedom of not having to wear a mask.

“I got no mask on. I'm smiling. I'm looking at other people's faces I haven't seen in a while,” he said.

Collins encouraged those who still have not received the Covid-19 vaccine to get vaccinated.

“This is something we all were hoping for and we are here, but we’ve got to get here together, which means get everybody on board, with signing up, rolling up your sleeve. If you haven't done that yet, you're going to want to do it now," he said.

The indoor mask mandate in North Carolina will remain in effect while the state reviews new guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Dory MacMillan, Gov. Roy Cooper's press secretary.

“The CDC announcement today on masks shows the important benefits of vaccinations. North Carolina two weeks ago removed the outdoor mask mandate, but the indoor mask mandate remains in effect while state health officials review the specific CDC recommendations,” MacMillan said.

The CDC announced Thursday that people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, except under certain circumstances.

 

Disney welcomed new guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on mask and social distancing for fully vaccinated people, calling it "extremely positive news."

"Today’s guidance from the CDC allowing fully vaccinated individuals to remove masks and the removal of physical distancing requirements is extremely positive news and as soon as is practical we will implement updated guidelines across our businesses," a Disney spokesperson said.

On Thursday, the CDC announced that people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, except under certain circumstances.

Washington state – where the first Covid-19 case inside the United States was diagnosed – is expected to drop its economic restrictions June 30, the governor announced Thursday.

“We have more work to do, but this should give us a good path forward to reopen our state,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in a news conference.

The governor said the state economic reopening will happen even sooner if at least 70% of residents 16 years of age and older get at least one vaccine dose before the deadline. The only circumstance that could delay the reopening past June is the unlikely event that intensive care capacity reaches 90%.

Inslee also announced that the state will change its mask mandate to align with guidance issued Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Businesses will no longer be required to demand mask wearing of people who are fully vaccinated. Exceptions will be made for medical settings, prisons, schools, and public transportation.

“Our hope is that it will increase people’s interest in fighting Covid because it will give people an additional incentive to get vaccinated,” said Inslee. “This is lifesaving. It's free. What's not to like?”

The governor said the state currently does not plan to require businesses to check the vaccination status of their customers, but businesses will have the right to do so if they choose.

New York City is reviewing the new mask guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, citing the importance of masks in schools, public transportation, health care and congregate settings, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement Thursday.

He called it “a monumental day in the fight against COVID,” noting the importance of getting vaccinated.

“But the message is clear: vaccinations are the way to bring our city, our lives, back,” de Blasio added. “Get vaccinated. It’s safe, effective and millions of your neighbors have been vaccinated already. We have come so far—now we will reach the finish line together.”

Children too young to be vaccinated will still have to wear masks when they are indoors and around others, even if older kids and adults are free to take off face protection once they are fully vaccinated, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday.

“The children do, when they're out there playing with their friends and, you know, particularly in an indoor situation they do,” Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that fully vaccinated people can feel free to take off face masks in most situations, as they are very safe from becoming infected and from infecting others with coronavirus.

“But, you know, one of the things that's also important, that's happened most recently, is the approval of vaccines for children 12 to 15 years old,” added Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The CDC signed off on using vaccines in that age group Wednesday.

And vaccine makers are also testing vaccines in younger children – in groups such as 6-9-year-olds, 2-6-year-olds and infants and toddlers, Fauci said. They’ll soon ask the US Food and Drug Administration to authorize or approve vaccinating those younger age groups.

“Then by the end of the year we hope to vaccinate anybody. Right now, the 12- to 15-year-olds can get vaccinated by the Pfizer vaccine,” Fauci said.

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