Fully Vaccinated? Here's What's Recommended In NJ

NEW JERSEY — With 3 million New Jerseyans fully vaccinated against COVID-19, public-health guidance continues to develop. Questions like — Can I travel? Do I need to wear my mask? What about social distancing? — have become quite common.

While it's understandable that residents would wish to leave these remnants of their pre-vaccinated lives behind, the Centers for Disease Control advice on this front is not so straightforward.

Patients become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 two weeks after their Johnson & Johnson inoculation or two weeks after their second Pfizer or Moderna dose. At that point, New Jersey officials and the CDC allow people more flexibility in their daily lives.

Here's a guide to what can change and what should stay the safe after full vaccination.

Essential Health Advice

First, the not-so-fun stuff: the New Jersey Department of Health says to continue following basic COVID-19 advice:

• Wear a mask: Continue masking up at indoor public spaces and outdoor spaces where social distancing is difficult to maintain.
• Social distancing: Stay at least 6 feet from others and avoid crowded areas.
• Hand washing: continue washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use a hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water aren't available.
• Face touching: avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Travel

Domestic travel is allowed for fully vaccinated individuals, as is international travel, the CDC says. In both cases, residents are not required to receive tests before and after travel.

However, they continue to advise that such travel should be limited to what is considered "essential," particularly in light of the fourth wave of the virus that has hit many parts of the country.

"While we believe that fully vaccinated people can travel at low risk to themselves, CDC is not recommending travel at this time due to the rising number of cases," CDC
Director Rochelle Walensky said during a recent White House press briefing.

If you are only partially vaccinated, you should not travel at all, the CDC says.

In New Jersey, fully vaccinated people no longer need to quarantine or test negative for domestic travel. The state's self-quarantines remain voluntary, but officials expect compliance.

Pay close attention to you international destination if traveling outside the United States. Those who are fully vaccinated don't need to get tested before departing unless their destination requires it, the CDC says. But they still need to show a negative test result or documentation of COVID-19 recovery before boarding an international flight to the United States.

Fully vaccinated people should still get tested 3-5 days after international travel but don't need to self-quarantine after entering the United States.

Visits and Gatherings

Once fully vaccinated, the CDC says you can gather indoors with other fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask or maintaining 6 feet of distance. You can do the same in gatherings with unvaccinated people, as long as it's a visit with one other household — for instance, seeing a relative — and they aren't at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

Those fully inoculated can keep the mask off outdoors except in crowded settings, the CDC says. Last July, Gov. Phil Murphy began ordering people to wear masks outdoors when social distancing isn't possible. But he contended the rule was difficult to enforce.

New Jersey requires everyone — regardless of vaccination status — to mask up at public indoor settings. The CDC also says to continue following your workplace's guidance, as well.

And if you've been around someone sick or show symptoms, you should still get tested for COVID-19 and stay home and away from others.

About 3 million people in New Jersey have been fully vaccinated, while another million people have been partially inoculated. The Garden State needs a total of 4.7 million fully vaccinated by the end of June to meet its goal of inoculating 70 percent of adults in six months.