BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control issued new mask guidelines saying those who are fully vaccinated or low-risk for COVID-19 can attend indoor small gatherings without wearing a mask. This morning, Doctor Jonathan Dario of Adventist Health joined 23ABC to break down what that means.
Dr. Dario explained these new guidelines mean when a person is fully vaccinated, meaning after both doses, they will be considered low-risk. Once they are low-risk, the CDC said they can congregate with other low-risk people indoors without wearing a mask.
The CDC also says that small groups of vaccinated people can safely gather indoors with unvaccinated people — as long as those unvaccinated people do not have pre-existing conditions that would put them at elevated risk for the virus. In order to visit with those unvaccinated people at elevated risk, the CDC says people should wear masks and physically distance.
There have been questions about the difference between getting COVID-19 and recovering from it versus getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Dario said there are some key differences between the two.
"When you've recovered from the coronavirus infection, of course, you have some immunity developed," he said. "As for those who have the vaccine, it's just more targeted. The vaccine is telling us specifically what we want to have your immunity for."
Dr. Dario said that even if someone had COVID-19 and recovered, it's still recommended to they get the COVID-19 vaccine to better protect them against reinfection.
