CDC: Vaccinated People Can Now Travel Domestically Without Testing or Quarantining

Fully vaccinated Americans can now resume domestic travel without having to provide a negative COVID-19 test or quarantining. That’s according to new guidelines, published on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

“Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to get and spread COVID-19,” the CDC wrote in its update on Friday. 

“People who are fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine can travel safely within the United States. Fully vaccinated travelers do not need to get tested before or after travel unless their destination requires it,” the CDC wrote. 

While the CDC notes that international travel poses additional risks, it says fully vaccinated travelers should follow recommendations for traveling safely and get tested 3-5 days after travel, but do not need to get tested before leaving the United States unless the destination requires it. It also states that travelers do not need to self-quarantine after arriving in the United States.

People are considered “fully vaccinated” only after they’ve waited two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer of Modern vaccines, or two weeks after a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

While the news lifts some restrictions, the CDC is still stressing that Americans should “still follow CDC’s recommendations for traveling safely including: Wear a mask over your nose and mouth; Stay 6 feet from others and avoid crowds; [and] Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer.” 

“CDC recommends delaying travel until you are fully vaccinated because travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. If you are not fully vaccinated and must travel, follow CDC’s recommendations for unvaccinated people,” the CDC wrote.

For those Americans who are not vaccinated, they will still be pushed to take precautions when traveling. For those unvaccinated domestic travelers, the CDC recommends getting a viral test 1-3 days before your trip, wearing a mask, avoiding crows, washing hands, and getting tested with a viral test 3-5 after travel. 

Even prior to the announcement, Americans were heading to the airport in numbers not seen since the pandemic began last March. On Thursday, the Transportation Security Administration marked its 22nd straight day of passenger volume over 1 million, something unheard of since mid-March of last year.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article did not distinguish between domestic and international travel.