Question: A friend’s doctor told him that since he is fully vaccinated, his quarantine time post potential exposure can be cut to 5 days, plus test. Is this the new guidance for vaccinated people? If yes, why?

Answer: Your friend’s doctor is off the mark in their quarantine recommendation.  CDC’s Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People (just published yesterday!) includes guidance on this very issue, stating that fully vaccinated people should “refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic.”  Here, “fully vaccinated” means 2+ weeks post-second dose for Pfizer/Moderna or 2+ weeks post-single-dose for Johnson & Johnson. CDC’s recommendations further state that, “Fully vaccinated people who do not quarantine should still monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days following an exposure. If they experience symptoms, they should isolate themselves from others, be clinically evaluated for COVID-19, including SARS-CoV-2 testing, if indicated, and inform their health care provider of their vaccination status at the time of presentation to care.”  To sum up–  as long as the fully vaccinated person remains without symptoms, they can go about their daily life (still following good public health practices like masking). However, because no vaccine is 100% effective, if a fully vaccinated person does experience COVID-like symptoms, they should avoid contact with others, get tested, and consult their doctor.  

Finally, a reminder on self-quarantine guidelines for non-vaccinated folks– if you have been exposed and remain without symptoms, according to CDC’s guidelines you can self-quarantine for 5 days, get tested on day 5, and upon receipt of negative results you can discontinue self-quarantine (Q&A of 12/4 further describes).