After the shot: What can you safely do?

An exclusive preview from the latest issue of The Week magazine If you have trouble viewing this email, [read the online version](. NEWS In this issue of The Week --------------------------------------------------------------- Dear newsletter reader, We thought you'd appreciate this special preview from the latest issue of The Week magazine, where you'll find everything you need to know about the most important stories in news, business, technology, and culture. Today's preview comes from the Talking Points section. If you like what you read you can [try 6 Risk-Free issues of The Week](. After the shot: What can you safely do? Americans just got their "first glimpse" of what life will be like after vaccination, said Lena Sun and Lenny Bernstein at The Washington Post. In new guidelines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that those who have gone at least two weeks since their final dose can visit in small numbers at private indoor gatherings, such as dinner parties, without masking or social distancing. The CDC also said the inoculated can visit indoors with members of a single unvaccinated household without precautions so long as the unvaccinated are not at high risk for serious illness. For now, the CDC said, the vaccinated should continue masking in indoor public places and avoid long-distance travel. The guidelines are "good news" for grandparents, said Roni Caryn Rabin at The New York Times. The CDC guidance means that they can now visit and hug their children and grandkids so long as their families are local. Actually, "parts of the new guidelines are absurdly restrictive," said Dr. Marty Makary at The Wall Street Journal. The CDC still isn't acknowledging the growing evidence that vaccinated people have a very low risk of passing the virus to the unvaccinated. A study from Pfizer and the Israeli Health Ministry showed that vaccination diminishes transmission by up to 94 percent. With nearly 100 percent protection from serious illness and death, the vaccinated are "essentially bulletproof," yet the CDC is still warning them against restaurants and air travel. Why? The CDC "missed a critical opportunity," said Dr. Leana Wen at The Washington Post. With millions of Americans hesitant to get the vaccine, the agency needs to convince them that the shots are a "ticket back to pre-pandemic life." But by insisting that the inoculated still abstain from traveling or from returning to gyms, salons, and churches, even while wearing masks, the CDC failed to give them the incentive to overcome their reluctance to get the shot. Soon, the debate will shift, said the Los Angeles Times in an editorial. Should society mandate vaccinations for those returning to offices, planes, and other public spaces? Public-health laws do allow the state and private employers to require vaccinations, but since the U.S. vaccines were approved under emergency-use authorizations, it's unclear whether people can be required to get them. Cities, states, and Congress may have to make that decision. "Lawmakers, it's your call." [Try 6 Risk-Free issues of The Week]( [The week Logo] Copyright © 2021 The Week Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.. You’re receiving this because you subscribe to or signed up to receive emails from The Week. To unsubscribe from these emails, click [here](. The Week Publications, Inc. Registered address: 155 E 44th St Fl 22, New York, NY, 10017-4100. Further information about how we use your data can be found in our [Privacy Policy](.