COVID19 2021-03-17 Health Alert: New Guidance Clarified for Fully Vaccinated Individuals

The Tompkins County Health Department (TCHD) is clarifying recent guidance from New York State and the CDC related to individuals vaccinated against COVID-19. As vaccinations increase, health officials have begun to expand the guidance regarding travel and gatherings for fully vaccinated individuals.

TCHD continues to encourage 100% of individuals to get vaccinated when they are eligible. TCHD reminds the public that even those vaccinated must continue to wear a mask, social distance, and reduce density when in public. Individuals should get tested when they are symptomatic. These steps are critical to stopping the spread of COVID-19.

Fully vaccinated individuals may now:

• Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
• Visit indoors with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease, without wearing masks or physical distancing
• Be exempt from quarantine and testing following a known exposure or travel if asymptomatic

The CDC states that an individual is fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their second dose of a 2-dose vaccine, a link to the CDC’s guidance can be found here and on the TCHD website.

The New York State Department of Health issued guidance related to travel which can be found here and on the TCHD website.

In addition, New York State is expanding gathering limits and has issued the following guidelines effective March 22, 2021 (unrelated to whether individuals are vaccinated):

• Gatherings statewide at private residences are still limited to 10 people indoors but have been increased to 25 people outdoors.
• Gatherings in public spaces, previously limited to 50 people, will be limited to 100 people indoors and 200 people outdoors.

TCHD has published this guidance on the Department’s website and will continue to do so as guidance is expanded by the CDC and NYSDOH.

Tompkins County Public Health Director Frank Kruppa stated, “We continue to be successful administering the vaccine in Tompkins County, and we’re encouraging 100% of those who are eligible to get vaccinated. It’s great to see more and more people get vaccinated, and this new guidance increases flexibility of what people  can do in their daily lives.”

Kruppa continued, “Even though the vaccines are incredibly effective, scientists are still working to confirm whether you can spread the disease once fully vaccinated. Therefore,  everyone must continue to wear a mask and keep distance from one another in public, and avoid crowds - this is critical to protect the most vulnerable until we can achieve herd immunity.”

The Tompkins County Health Department recently issued a new poster titled, "Together," to symbolize what we have been through as a community over the past year, and remind everyone of the precautions the community must continue to practice to keep each other healthy and safe. The poster is available for download here on the Health Department website.