The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is asking unvaccinated Americans to stay home on Labor Day weekend and skip the celebrations this year.
There are nearly 80 million people who are unvaccinated in the United States.
During a White House briefing on Tuesday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that those who have not taken the jab should not go out to celebrate during the holiday weekend. Her remarks were prompted by a journalist questioning why the administration has not taken a tougher stance on advising against travel.
“First and foremost, if you are unvaccinated, we would recommend not traveling,” Walensky, adding that those ho are fully vaccinated can travel with “precautions.” She warned that even if they are vaccinated it might not protect them from the Delta variant, however.
“Given where we are with disease transmission right now, we would say that people need to take their own these risks into their own consideration as they think about traveling. If you are unvaccinated, we would recommend not traveling.”
Those who do travel, Walensky said, should celebrate outdoors and wear masks if inside. She also claimed that the face coverings will not be required “forever.”
“Throughout the pandemic, we have seen that the vast majority of transmission takes place among unvaccinated people in closed indoor settings,” Walensky said. “Masks are not forever, but they are for now.”
Roughly 38.6% of all Americans are not fully vaccinated.
Currently, the CDC recommends that if you travel while unvaccinated you should seek testing several days before, wear masks while indoors, avoid crowds, social distance and keep your hands clean. They also recommend getting tested 3-5 days after you travel and self isolating for a week — no matter what your test results say. If you don’t get tested, they agency is urging people to self isolate for more than 10 days.
