The European Centre for Disease Control has updated the pandemic control guidelines and admits an easing of restrictions as vaccination progresses.
Photo by Uriel Mont on Pexels
Foto de Uriel Mont no Pexels

As vaccination against the coronavirus progresses, mandatory masking and social distancing concerns may ease, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which updated its pandemic control guidelines on 21st April 2021. The body admits that some countries may begin, "slowly", to relax some restrictions to combat Covid-19, especially for vaccinees.

The ECDC indicates the "specific situations" for lifting restrictions such as physical distancing and wearing a mask, namely "when fully vaccinated individuals encounter other fully vaccinated people" or when "an unvaccinated individual or unvaccinated individuals from the same family or social bubble meet fully vaccinated individuals".

The European centre stresses that in the current context, and given the available evidence, "the risk of developing severe Covid-19 for a fully vaccinated individual is very low in young and middle-aged adults, and low in older adults or people with underlying risk factors", and that therefore the overall reduction in risk of severe disease depends on vaccine uptake and vaccination coverage in the general population.

"Limited evidence indicates that fully vaccinated individuals, if infected, may be less likely to transmit SARSCoV-2 to their unvaccinated contacts. Uncertainty remains regarding the duration of protection in such cases, as well as the possible protection against emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2," the released report further reads.

The European centre also considers that requirements for testing and quarantine of travellers and regular testing in workplaces "may be waived or modified for fully vaccinated individuals, provided there is no circulation or a very low level of variants".

Still, and due to the current epidemiological context in the EU, "in public spaces and large gatherings, including during travel, non-pharmaceutical interventions [restrictions and mask use] should be maintained regardless of individuals' vaccination status", stresses the ECDC.