CDPH Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated Individuals
May 5, 2021
This week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) updated its recommendations for individuals who are fully vaccinated. Key points from this guidance are below.

Fully vaccinated people can:
  • Spend time with other fully vaccinated people, including indoors, without wearing masks or physical distancing (outside a workplace setting).
  • Spend time with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
  • Refrain from wearing face coverings outdoors except when attending crowded outdoor events, such as live performances, parades, fairs, festivals, sports events, or other similar settings.
  • Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic.
  • Following a known exposure at work, fully vaccinated workers do not need to quarantine if asymptomatic.
  • In the workplace, employers subject to the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) must ensure that employees are following the current ETS face covering and testing requirements.

Fully vaccinated people should continue to:
  • Take precautions in public including wearing a well-fitted mask indoors, and when attending crowded outdoor events, as described above.
  • Check CDPH guidance for face coverings for updates.
  • Follow CDPH's Guidance for Gatherings when gathering with people who are not vaccinated, groups with both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, and persons of unknown status. Maintain physical distancing and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease.
  • Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
  • If fully vaccinated people test positive for SARS-CoV-2, they should follow CDPH and local health department guidance regarding isolation and/or exclusion from high-risk settings.
  • For workplace settings, employers should follow the exclusion provisions of the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards.*
  • Follow CDC, local and state health department travel requirements and recommendations.

Individuals are considered fully vaccinated when it has been two weeks or more after they have received either their second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) or their single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson [J&J]/Janssen). Individuals may refer to Addendum to Blueprint Activity & Business Tiers Chart – Tested and Fully Vaccinated Individuals and Sections for further industry and venue guidance related to tested negative and fully vaccinated individuals.

*The Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) applies to all employers, employees, and to all places of employment with three exceptions:
  1. Workplaces where there is only one employee who does not have contact with other people.
  2. Employees who are working from home.
  3. Employees who are covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases regulation.

In contrast with this CDPH update, the Cal/OSHA ETS states that “all prevention measures must continue to be implemented,” including the requirement for face coverings, physical distancing, and the exclusion of workers who have been exposed to persons with COVID-19. Though the impact of vaccines is said to likely be addressed in future revisions of the ETS, this has yet to occur.

For questions regarding CDPH recommendations, please reach out to Rebecca Baskins at rbaskins@kscsacramento.com. For questions regarding the Cal/OSHA ETS, please reach out to Louie Brown at lbrown@kscsacramento.com. 
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