Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shifted its stance this week on the need to wear masks if you're vaccinated. What's that mean for kids? For travel? For work? Experts weigh in.

Los Centros para la Prevención y Control de Enfermedades (CDC, por sus siglas en inglés) dijeron que las personas completamente vacunadas contra el COVID-19 pueden dejar de portar mascarillas y de practicar el distanciamiento social. Pero aún se deben seguir las leyes locales y las reglas de cada negocio.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks and social distancing indoors and outdoors, with a few exceptions. But people must still follow local laws and business requirements.

Federal regulators say they have confidence the vaccine is safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 and the benefits outweigh the risks.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers found no obvious safety concerns in a study of 35,000 pregnant people who received the vaccines, though they say more research is needed.

Just a week ago, only 33 countries were on the U.S. "Do Not Travel" list. New additions include Canada, Mexico, Germany and the U.K.

Researchers say cocaine, meth and other street drugs are increasingly contaminated with deadly synthetic opioids, contributing to a major spike in deaths.

An expert advisory committee to the CDC decided it needed more time to consider whether to recommend the restart administration of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson.

The variant known as B.1.1.7, which is more easily spread, was first identified in England last fall. Since then, it has spread quickly in the U.S.

Guidance released Friday allows fully vaccinated people to travel domestically without getting tested or self-quarantining, but advises them to keep practicing mitigation measures to protect others.