Health & Fitness
Fully Vaccinated Illinoisans Can Gather Maskless With Each Other
New CDC guidelines allow the 10.75 percent of Illinoisans who have been fully vaccinated to gather with other fully-vaccinated people.
ACROSS ILLINOIS — Life can start to return to normal for nearly 11 percent of Illinois residents who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus — but only when interacting with others who are fully vaccinated.
On Monday, the Center for Disease Control issued interim guidelines for those who've received both of their Moderna or Pfizer shots or their Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which only requires one dose. So far, 1.4 million — or 10.75 percent of Illinoisans — have been fully vaccinated, according to recent public health data.
State health officials say 3.8 million Illinois residents have also received their first vaccine dose. The new guidance — and maskless gatherings with others who have been fully vaccinated — will apply to those people two weeks safer they receive their second dose.
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The new CDC guidelines, the first issued by public health officials for fully vaccinated residents, says that two weeks or longer after the completion of inoculations people can:
- Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
- Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
- Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if they are asymptomatic
But while in public, the new rules don't apply. The CDC says even if they are fully vaccinated, people should wear a well-fitted mask and keep their distance from others to protect those who aren't vaccinated.
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They should also:
- Wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease
- Wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households
- Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
- Follow guidance issued by individual employers
- Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations
The new guidance comes at a time when substantially more vaccines are being doled out daily compared to a month ago. The announcement also came the day before the opening of the United Center mass vaccination site, which will start offering jabs today and is expected to be administering doses to 6,000 people per day by Wednesday.
Chicagoans who are seniors or those who qualify under Phase 1b+ can make appointments for the United Center through the multilingual call center at 312-746-4835. This hotline is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. High call volume is anticipated.
Appointments will also be made available through targeted outreach to vulnerable zip codes and high-risk populations, according to Chicago officials.
Over the weekend, the rules changed regarding who could make an appointment at the United Center. Before, all Illinois residents eligible could sign up for a shot, but now the site is reserved for Cook County residents.
All seniors who registered before the rule change will be vaccinated on their appointment date, even if they do not live in Cook County.
Another mass vaccination center in the Chicago area, located at the Lake County fairgrounds in Grayslake, is currently doling out up to 1,000 doses per day. There Lake County residents 65 years and older can make an appointment through the AllVax portal.
“To truly beat back this virus and have life return to normal, we need to aggressively increase vaccine supply and add more vaccination sites, while also making it easier for people to schedule their appointment," said Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Deerfield.
Schneider recently toured the mass vaccination site at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Grayslake with Mark Pfister, the executive director of the Lake County Health Department. Schneider reviewed vaccine distribution logistics and talked to those receiving the vaccine.
Last weekend, the Senate passed the American Rescue Plan, which will send a stimulus check of $1,400 per person to those who qualify and also fund a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites across the country.
"We are seeing progress as vaccine numbers continue to rise, and I am impressed by what I saw today at the Lake County Fairgrounds mass vaccination site," Schneider said. "Still, there remain roadblocks that we need to overcome. I commend the Senate for swiftly passing President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which will develop a national mass vaccination plan and help communities like those across Lake and Cook counties get more shots in arms faster."
The House is expected to pass the bill this week before it heads to Biden's desk.
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