CDC director urges outdoor gatherings, limiting crowds for Halloween festivities.

If you haven't already, you might want to dust off your kids' Halloween costumes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just given the green light on trick-or-treating this year. In an appearance on CBS's Face the Nation, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said children should be able to go door-to-door for candy, assuming proper safety precautions are implemented.

"If you're able to be outdoors, absolutely," Walensky said, on whether it's safe to allow trick-or-treating outside.

The announcement marks a shift from last year's guidelines, which recommended virtual activities at home as opposed to those deemed "high risk" like trick-or-treating, indoor parties, and gatherings with people outside one's household. But conditions have appeared to improve as vaccinations have increased throughout the country.

A report from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows a 10% decrease in new COVID-19 infections globally, while progress on a children's vaccine is showing promise amid surging cases of the Delta variant.

As far as Halloween goes, what does the CDC recommend? Walensky emphasized some key aspects to celebrating safely, including staying outdoors and gathering in smaller groups. Larger get-togethers and indoor spaces should be avoided, she said, as maintaining social distancing proves more difficult in big crowds to reduce transmission of the virus.

"I wouldn’t necessarily go to a crowded Halloween party, but I think that we should be able to let our kids go trick-or-treating in small groups," she added.

Currently, Pfizer and BioNTech are preparing to seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a children's COVID-19 vaccine. Data has been submitted for the clinical trials involving kids between the ages of 5 and 11, who displayed a "robust" immune response in initial studies. Health officials say the vaccine should be approved at some point in November upon receiving permission from the FDA.

For more information on COVID-19 guidelines, you can visit the CDC's website.

How do you feel about this news from the CDC? Will you be taking your kids trick-or-treating or staying at home? Let us know in the comments.