CDC announces vaccinated Americans can now travel with minimal risk

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that Americans who are vaccinated for COVID-19 will now be able to travel domestically and internationally.

The CDC officially made the announcement during the White House Covid Briefing and said Americans will still need to wear masks and observe social distancing while traveling.

"We state that fully vaccinated people can resume travel at low risk to themselves. For domestic travel, fully vaccinated people do not need to get a COVID-19 test before or after travel and do not need to self-quarantine after travel," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during Friday's briefing. "And while we believe in fully vaccinated people can travel at low risk to themselves, CDC is not recommending travel at this time due to the rising number of cases."

She gave an example saying that fully vaccinated grandparents can fly to visit their healthy grandkids without having to get a Covid-19 test or have to have to quarantine afterward. She did urge people who are traveling internationally to get tested before returning to the country, however.

Walensky also said that places that have loosened COVID-19 precautions might be the cause for the rising number of cases.

"This is a pivotal moment for our country," Walensky said. "We are taking unprecedented actions to vaccinate the public as quickly as possible, and millions of being vaccinated, each and every day. We are better equipped than ever before to take on the serious challenges, but we must remain vigilant."

The White House provided an update during the press conference saying that the last seven-day average was 2.5 million vaccinations per day, and nearly 100 million Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine.