CDC releases new guidelines for Americans vaccinated against Covid-19

By Ben Westcott, Brett McKeehan, Kara Fox, Mike Hayes and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 0103 GMT (0903 HKT) March 9, 2021
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1:23 p.m. ET, March 8, 2021

Chicago will allow some fans back into baseball stadiums in April, mayor says

From CNN's Konstantin Toropin

The Chicago Cubs take on the Chicago White Sox in an empty Wrigley Field on July 19.
The Chicago Cubs take on the Chicago White Sox in an empty Wrigley Field on July 19. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced today that fans will be allowed back into baseball stadiums for Opening Day of the 2021 season on April 1.

"Folks, we've significantly slowed the spread of COVID, getting our positivity rate down to 2.8%," Lightfoot wrote in a tweet.

"And now, we can begin to safely welcome fans back to our baseball stands on opening day," she added. 

The Chicago White Sox said that they will "welcome a limited number of fans, approximately 20% of Guaranteed Rate Field’s total capacity, in physically distanced seating pods at home games," in a statement today.

The Chicago Cubs also announced that "the team is approved to host 20% of Wrigley Field's capacity beginning with the April 1 home opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates," in a statement today.

Both teams noted that they will be enforcing masking for all fans and that they will employ "pod-style seating for physical distancing."

Lightfoot herself also said that "although we’re reopening, masking is still of utmost importance" in her tweet.

See the mayor's tweet:

12:39 p.m. ET, March 8, 2021

Pennsylvania has administered almost 3 million vaccine doses

From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia

Pennsylvania has administered nearly 3 million total Covid-19 vaccination doses, according to the state health department.

It has fully vaccinated almost 1 million people, according to statistics from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Pennsylvania has been allocated 4,179,220 doses through March 13, and has administered 2,981,190 total doses through March 7, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said.

Pennsylvania added a two-day total of 3,176 cases, as well as 39 deaths. 

12:34 p.m. ET, March 8, 2021

Biden will deliver primetime address Thursday to mark one-year of Covid-19 shutdown

From CNN's Betsy Klein

President Joe Biden gives an address at the White House on March 6, in Washington, DC.
President Joe Biden gives an address at the White House on March 6, in Washington, DC. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

President Biden will deliver his first primetime address on Thursday, commemorating the milestone of one year since coronavirus became a global pandemic, shutting down much of the nation and changing the course of history.

“The President will deliver his first primetime address to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Covid-19 shutdown on Thursday. He will discuss the many sacrifices the American people have made over the last year and the grave loss communities and families across the country have suffered,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at Monday’s briefing.

She said Biden looks forward to “highlighting the role that Americans will play in beating the virus and moving the country toward getting back to normal.” 

12:04 p.m. ET, March 8, 2021

Italy becomes 6th country to record more than 100,000 Covid-19 deaths

From CNN’s Nicola Ruotolo in Rome 

A Civil Protection member walks past the coffins of Covid-19 victims in Ponte San Pietro, Italy, on April 7, 2020.
A Civil Protection member walks past the coffins of Covid-19 victims in Ponte San Pietro, Italy, on April 7, 2020. Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images

Italy’s coronavirus death toll topped 100,000 on Monday, making it the sixth country to do so, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Italian Health Ministry data showed the country registered a further 318 deaths in the 24 hours to Monday, which takes the total during the pandemic to 100,103.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi Monday recalled how a year ago, on March 10, Italy was the first western country to declare a Red Zone with hard lockdown measures.

“We would never have thought that a year later we would still be facing a similar emergency and that the official death toll would have approached the terrible threshold of 100,000 dead,” he said in a video message to a gender equality conference.

“The pandemic has not yet been defeated, but with the acceleration of the vaccination plan, a way out is not far away,” Draghi said, thanking Italian citizens for their patience and discipline, especially the ones who are suffering economic consequences from the pandemic.

He said the country is seeing a rise in numbers of cases. The Italian Health Ministry said last week that the UK variant was becoming prevalent. 

In the past 24 hours, 13,092 new infections were recorded, and ICU occupancy is up to 2,700 — 95 more than a day earlier.

Almost 5.5 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the country, but Draghi said he aims to speed up the vaccination schedule.

11:44 a.m. ET, March 8, 2021

Vaccinated Americans should still avoid travel, CDC head says

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard

People who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are still encouraged to avoid travel, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a White House briefing on Monday.

"Every time there's a surge in travel, we have a surge in cases in this country," Walensky said. "We are really trying to restrain travel at this current period of time, and we're hopeful that our next set of guidance will have more science around what vaccinated people can do."
12:08 p.m. ET, March 8, 2021

CDC director says they will continue to update their guidance for vaccinated people

Dr. Rochelle Walensky speaks during a news conference at the Queen Theater on December 8, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky speaks during a news conference at the Queen Theater on December 8, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky said the new guidance released today on what activities are safe for fully vaccinated people represents the "first step."

"It is not our final destination," Walensky said.

She added, "As more people get vaccinated, levels of Covid infection decline in communities and as our understanding of Covid immunity improves" they will be updating their guidance.

Some more context: In summary, fully vaccinated people can visit with other fully vaccinated people, indoors without wearing a mask or physical distancing. Fully vaccinated people can also visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are low risk for severe Covid-19 disease, indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.

Walensky said that fully vaccinated people should continue to wear masks and social distance when they're out in public and avoid medium and large-sized gatherings.

11:36 a.m. ET, March 8, 2021

Rio de Janeiro ICU occupancy reaches 96%, official says

From Marcia Reverdosa in Sao Paulo

The occupancy rate of ICU beds peaked this week in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, reaching 96% occupancy on Sunday, according to data from the Health Secretary of the State.

As of Sunday, the city has 616 ICU beds dedicated to Covid-19 care.

Hospitals across the country have faced an ICU occupancy crisis as variants of the virus spread and the vaccine is slowly rolled out.

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, announced that new restrictive measures went into effect on Friday including people not being allowed on the street between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. local time, limited hours of operation for bars and restaurants and a ban on events or parties in public and private areas, among others.

The mayor emphasized that the new measures were taken preventively, to avoid something more rigid, such as a full lockdown.

Though the ICU occupancy rate for the state of Rio is around 73%, eight other of its cities have already collapsed. Bom Jesus, Miracema, Paraíba do Sul, Rio das Ostras, Saquarema, Sapucaia, Teresópolis and Três Rios have all run out of ICU beds, according to the Rio state health secretary data.

CNN has asked the government what measures are being taken to address the possible collapse of healthcare in the city of Rio de Janeiro, but has not heard back.

Rio de Janeiro state has nearly 600,000 cases of Covid-19 confirmed and 33,717 deaths, according to its health secretary on Sunday.

12:29 p.m. ET, March 8, 2021

US surpasses 29 million confirmed Covid-19 cases

From CNN’s Ben Tinker and Brandon Miller

A medical worker administers a Covid-19 test at Rockland High School on Saturday, February 21, in Rockland, Massachusetts. 
A medical worker administers a Covid-19 test at Rockland High School on Saturday, February 21, in Rockland, Massachusetts.  Robin Chan/Wicked Local Staff Photo/USA Today Network

There have been at least 29,000,012 total cases of Covid-19 confirmed in the United States, and at least 525,046 people have died from Covid-19 since the pandemic began, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University

  • JHU recorded the first case of Covid-9 in the United States on January 21, 2020
  • 97 days later, on April 27, 2020, the US hit 1 million cases 
  • 103 days later, on August 8, 2020, the US hit 5 million cases 
  • 92 days later, on November 8, 2020, the US hit 10 million cases
  • 29 days later, on December 7, 2020, the US hit 15 million cases 
  • 24 days later, on December 31, 2020, the US hit 20 million cases 
  • 23 days later, on January 23, the US hit 25 million cases
  • 7 days later, on January 30, the US hit 26 million cases 
  • 8 days later, on February 7, the US hit 27 million cases
  • 14 days later, on February 20, the US hit 28 million cases
  • 16 days later, on March 8, the US hit 29 million cases

At least 20 other countries have reported more than 1 million total Covid-19 cases, according to JHU:

  • India and Brazil have over 11 million total cases
  • Russia and the UK have over 4 million total cases
  • France, Spain and Italy have over 3 million total cases
  • Turkey, Germany, Colombia, Argentina and Mexico have over 2 million total cases
  • Poland, Iran, South Africa, Ukraine, Indonesia, Peru, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands have over 1 million total cases 
12:24 p.m. ET, March 8, 2021

New CDC guidance give some limited freedoms to people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19

From CNN's Jen Christensen

Syringes of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic organized by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department in Gilroy, California, on Thursday, March 4.
Syringes of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic organized by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department in Gilroy, California, on Thursday, March 4. Nic Coury/Bloomberg/Getty Images

New guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can safely visit with other vaccinated people and small groups of unvaccinated people in some circumstances — but there are still important safety precautions required.

The guidelines will be announced at the White House Covid-19 Response Team briefing on Monday.

The CDC defines people who are fully vaccinated as those who are two weeks past their second dose of the Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine or two weeks past a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

People who are vaccinated are protected and there is growing evidence that they don’t spread Covid-19, but scientists are still trying to understand how long vaccine protection lasts.

“The level of precautions taken should be determined by the characteristics of the unvaccinated people, who remain unprotected against Covid-19,” the guidelines said.

The CDC says fully vaccinated people can:

  • Visit other vaccinated people indoors without masks or physical distancing
  • Visit indoors with unvaccinated people from a single household without masks or physical distancing, if the unvaccinated people are at low risk for severe disease.
  • Skip quarantine and testing if exposed to someone who has Covid-19 but are asymptomatic, but should monitor for symptoms for 14 days.

However, people who are fully vaccinated still need to take precautions in many scenarios.

The guidelines say fully vaccinated people must:

  • Wear a mask and keep good physical distance around the unvaccinated who are at increased risk for severe Covid-19, or if the unvaccinated person has a household member who is at higher risk
  • Wear masks and physically distance when visiting unvaccinated people who are from multiple households.

In addition, fully vaccinated people should continue basic safety precautions, including: wearing a mask that fits well and keeping physical distance in public; avoiding medium- and large-sized crowds; avoiding poorly ventilated public spaces; washing hands frequently; and getting tested for Covid-19 if they feel sick. 

Remember: The CDC travel recommendations have not changed for the unvaccinated. The guidelines still say that with high case numbers, the CDC recommends that you do not travel at this time.