FILE – A sign asks those getting vaccinated to keep 6 feet apart during the vaccination event, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, at Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley, Calif. The CDC has again revised its COVID guidelines, further relaxing quarantine recommendations and dropping the recommendation that people stay at least 6 feet away from each other. (Elias Funez/The Union via AP, File) 

By MIKE STOBBE and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s top public health agency is relaxing its COVID-19 guidelines and dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said Thursday that people no longer need to stay at least 6 feet away from others. The changes come more than 2 1/2 years after the start of the pandemic. They are driven by a recognition that an estimated 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity, either from being vaccinated or infected.