When is a person considered to be fully immunized?

Among other things, the directive states that fully vaccinated people can visit other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distance, visiting unvaccinated people in a single household who are at low risk of serious illness indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing, refraining from quarantine and testing after exposure to coronavirus if no symptoms are present.

But more importantly, the CDC’s manual explains when a person is considered fully vaccinated. It turns out that immunity to the coronavirus doesn’t magically come on the day someone gets an injection.

The agency only grants membership to the “fully vaccinated” club. 2 weeks after the last dose of the drug which involves two injections (such as Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) or 2 weeks after receiving a single dose of vaccine (in the case of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine).

This period roughly corresponds to the period when most people are expected to gain sufficient immunity to defend themselves against a symptomatic case of Covid-19. Only then, according to the agency, can people who have been vaccinated can begin to carefully change their behavior.