It is news that many Americans have been waiting for: The CDC announced today that people completely vaccinated against COVID-19 – that is two weeks after the mass shooting of Johnson & Johnson or the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna rifle – no longer need to wear masks in most cases.
“Science shows that if you are completely vaccinated you are safe,” Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC told reporters at a press conference.
People How Often to Use Face Masks
Does that mean we can all take a big bag of trash and get rid of the house of all the last covered faces we have forever? Probably not. And that’s for a few reasons. On the one hand, there are many exceptions to the new recommendations. The ICDC still recommends that Americans wear masks in a wide range of facilities, including doctors’ offices, hospitals, nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities.
Mask’s recommendations also reside in public transportation including buses, planes, and trains – both on the way and at the station. Again, Americans will still need to follow state and local guidelines on wearing a mask, which may require people to wear face masks at work and in other private businesses.
The new revision of guidelines comes 16 days after the CDC announced that completely vaccinated people do not have to wear masks in many outdoor areas. According to Walensky, among the reasons for this radical change are a drop in one-third of the rates over the past two weeks, an increase in the availability of vaccines (especially young people ready for the Pfizer vaccine), and the emergence of new scientific advances.
Of particular importance has been the evidence for the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine in general in real-world people, in combating diversity, and in preventing transmission.
“While this may be an incentive for some people to be vaccinated, that is not the intention,” Walensky said. “Our goal here, as a public health organization, is to pursue science and to follow where we are in terms of science and what is safe for people to do.”
However, this change will be acceptable to most Americans. At least one-third of people in the US (and counting) are completely vaccinated, and many are frustrated by the ongoing limitations, even though they have been shown how effective they are. “We need to loosen the boundaries so that people feel like they are back to normal,” Anthony Fauci, Biden’s senior adviser on the epidemic, told The New York Times. “Restoring limits to internal masks is an important step in the right direction.”
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But if you’re still wary of leaving your mask behind, that’s fine. If anything, this past year has shown that the mask is an effective form of public health. And it is unlikely that they will disappear even if the risks posed by COVID-19 continue to decrease.
After a full year of hiding and other forms of public health such as strong social and hand washing, this year’s flu season has disappeared, and many Americans have suddenly discovered that they do not have a single flu throughout the epidemic. So while it may be appropriate and safe to speak out now, covering your face often, as in crowded places and especially when you feel ill, will always be a safe decision.
