display
Washington (dpa) - In view of the rapidly growing number of vaccinated people in the USA, the corona requirements for public life are being further relaxed.
The US health agency CDC released new recommendations on Tuesday that fully vaccinated individuals no longer have to wear a mask for many outdoor activities.
US President Joe Biden spoke of "amazing progress" in the fight against the corona virus.
However, he warned that there was still a lot to be done and stressed that the easing was an incentive for those not yet vaccinated to get the injection.
According to the new CDC recommendations, walking, cycling, meeting in smaller groups or going to restaurants outside are safe for completely vaccinated people even without a mask.
In the case of larger gatherings in the open air, wearing a mask is also recommended for vaccinated people.
This also applies to many activities in closed rooms, for example when shopping or visiting the hairdresser.
display
Biden said those who were fully vaccinated could do more things safely - like picnicking with friends in the park without a mask.
This is another reason to get vaccinated quickly.
"It has never been easier."
The vaccination is free.
90 percent of Americans also have a vaccination station within five miles of their home.
The CDC boss Rochelle Walensky said the reason for the new requirements that the virus will mainly be transmitted in closed rooms. She praised the progress made in vaccination and said the number of new infections had recently fallen by more than 20 percent on a seven-day average. That is a "hopeful" decline. As the vaccination campaign in the USA progressed, the agency had already gradually relaxed its recommendations for restricting social contacts and travel.
According to the CDC, around 29 percent of the entire population in the USA is already fully vaccinated: 37 percent of adults and more than 67 percent of older people aged 65 and over.
More than half of all adults in the United States have received at least one dose of vaccine, and more than 81 percent of the elderly.
Around 230 million vaccine doses were administered in total.
In the United States, all citizens aged 16 and over are now eligible for the vaccination - regardless of age or risk group.
display
However, the rapid pace of the vaccination campaign could soon slow down because a significant part of the population is critical of a vaccination: According to a recent survey, a good 20 percent of citizens said they did not want a vaccination.
The government wants to convince these skeptics of a vaccination shot.
Biden said many thousands of people died every week when he took office in January, especially the elderly.
At that time, less than one percent of the elderly were fully vaccinated.
In the meantime the numbers have changed drastically.
Now thousands of lives would be saved every day.
There are currently three vaccines available in the United States.
The vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer / Biontech are administered in two doses each.
A syringe is sufficient for the Johnson & Johnson substance.
People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the last required vaccination.
display
In absolute numbers, the United States is hardest hit by the corona pandemic worldwide: More than 32 million infections have been reported here so far - and more than 572,000 deaths related to the corona virus.
Biden had given the fight against the pandemic priority and extremely accelerated the vaccination campaign by taking various steps.
When he took office, he initially set the goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office.
This was achieved after just 60 days.
Biden then doubled the target to 200 million vaccinations, and also achieved this before the 100-day period had expired - after a good 90 days.
This Thursday, Biden will be in office for 100 days.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210427-99-377645 / 2
CDC recommendations
USA vaccination campaign figures
Johns Hopkins University figures on corona cases in the US and worldwide