CDC: Fully vaccinated Americans can go maskless outdoors

Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks during bike rides, runs, small outdoor gatherings with friends, or dining outdoors at restaurants. Though the agency still recommends mask wearing in large outdoor gatherings, such as sports games and concerts, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said data are clear that being outside poses little threat to fully vaccinated people, meaning those who are 14 days out from their Johnson & Johnson vaccine or received their second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine 14 or more days ago. 'Most of transmission is happening indoors than outdoors,' Walensky said, explaining that less than 10% of documented COVID-19 transmission has occurred outside. Unvaccinated Americans may also now safely resume exercising outdoors without a mask, the CDC said, and socialize with fully vaccinated friends and family members in small outdoor gatherings. 'Today is another day we can take a step back to [the] normalcy of before,' Walensky said during a White House press briefing on the guidance change.