Americans with 2 doses of COVID vaccine can travel, CDC says

People fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can travel safely in the United States and abroad as long as they continue to take precautions like wearing a mask in public, according to new guidelines released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In its updated advice, the agency “always recommends delaying travel until you are fully immunized, as travel increases your chances of catching and spreading COVID-19.”

With cases on the rise in parts of the country and around the world, the CDC “doesn’t recommend travel at this time,” agency director Dr Rochelle Walensky said.

Fully vaccinated people traveling internationally do not need to be tested for COVID-19 before leaving the United States, unless their destination requires it, and they do not need to be tested. quarantine upon arrival in the country, federal health officials said. However, all air passengers arriving in the United States must have a negative coronavirus test result no more than three days prior to their travel date.

The CDC also recommends that people get tested three to five days after travel.

Domestic travelers who are fully vaccinated – which means two weeks have passed since their second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine or their one and only Johnson & Johnson vaccine – do not need to self-quarantine at their home. arrival at destination and must be tested before or after travel unless their destination requires it, ”according to the CDC.

It could come into play in California.

According to the state’s travel advisory, all travelers should get tested one to three days before starting their trip, and non-essential travelers should get tested three to five days upon arrival in California and put themselves in. quarantine for a full seven days after travel, even if their test is negative. The state’s travel advisory also says non-essential travelers who do not get tested should self-quarantine for 10 days after travel.

Additionally, “non-essential travelers from other states or countries, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccine status, are strongly discouraged from entering California,” according to the state.

California lifted its statewide advisory on Thursday asking leisure travelers to stay within 120 miles of home.