(NORTH CAROLINA NEWS NETWORK) – Monday, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated Americans can gather with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing, according to long-awaited guidance from federal health officials. The recommendations also say that vaccinated people can gather in the same way – in a single household – with people considered at low-risk for severe disease, such as in the case of vaccinated grandparents visiting healthy children and grandchildren.  Only about 9% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. In North Carolina, nearly 1.1 million people are fully vaccinated, which is 10.3% of the state.