| New guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday outlines activities that fully vaccinated Americans can safely enjoy without a mask.
Part of the guidance says fully vaccinated people can go without masks at outdoor gatherings or when dining outside with friends. Unvaccinated people, however, should wear masks during these activities, the agency said.
Some experts say the new guidance is too cautious and isn't enough to get hesitant Americans to get a shot or those who are already going without a mask for those activities.
“It doesn’t go far enough,” Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, told CNN. “What it doesn’t really underscore for Americans is what the CDC knows, which is that these vaccines induce immunity.”
Roughly 42.7% of the U.S. population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, CDC data shows and more than 29% of the population is fully vaccinated.
“If you tell people that you can do just about anything if you are vaccinated, that is telling people that you have confidence in the vaccines,” Reiner said. “But what’s the message to the country when you tell people who are fully vaccinated ‘Be wary of crowded locations?’ You’re casting doubt on the efficacy of the vaccine. And I don’t think there is any doubt on the efficacy of these vaccines.”
Government and CDC officials say the vaccines are extremely effective. But they say there’s still good reason to be cautious, as the country is still reporting a stunningly high number of daily COVID-19 cases and tens of millions of Americans remain unvaccinated and unprotected. | 
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