CDC pushes back plans to release post-vaccination guidelines
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat says the CDC will still recommend social distancing for Americans until more Americans are vaccinated and the U.S. is closer to herd immunity.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will not be releasing guidance on practices considered safe for those who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus on Thursday as was expected. In a statement sent to Fox News on Wednesday, an agency spokesperson said the guidance was "not finalized."
"CDC’s post-vaccination guidance will not be posted tomorrow because we have not finalized it here at CDC," Jason McDonald, CDC spokesperson, said. "Once it is final, we will publish and disseminate it."
Earlier this week, Fox News learned the guidelines would allow for those who are fully vaccinated to gather with one another in small groups and visit grandparents living in nursing homes who have also been fully vaccinated.
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The CDC is not expected to rollback guidance such as mask-wearing in public, limiting gatherings, social distancing and other public health measures that were put in place to combat the pandemic.
The guidance may also touch on travel for vaccinated individuals. McDonald did not say when the agency expected to finalize the impending updates.
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According to CDC data, about 8.1% of the U.S. population – just shy of 27 million people – is fully vaccinated. Questions about when it would be safe to visit elderly relatives or gather indoors without masks continue to arise, as does when it will be safe to travel.
Drs. Anthony Fauci and Rochelle Walensky have been increasingly pressed on the issues as the number of vaccines administered continue to go up and while new coronavirus cases show signs of leveling off.
Several states such as Mississippi and Texas have rolled back restrictions and dropped mask mandates citing declining cases and hospital rates, but top health officials and the Biden administration have pleaded with the public to continue adhering to public health measures.
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"Today we are at a critical nexus in the pandemic, so much can turn in the next few weeks," Walensky said at a press briefing Wednesday. "On the one hand, cases in the country are leveling off at rates just on the cusp of the potential to resurge, and the B.1.1.7 hyper-transmissible variant moves ready to hijack our success to date. And on the other hand, stamina has worn thin, fatigue is winning and the exact measures we’ve taken to stop the pandemic are now too often being flagrantly ignored."
Earlier this week, following the FDA’s emergency use authorization of Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine, President Joe Biden said that the U.S. would have enough supply to inoculate every adult by May.
Fox News' David Lewkowict and R.N. White contributed to this report.