People who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can now ditch the mask indoors, according to revised guidance on May 13 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It will be up to states whether or not to keep mask mandates in place. As of May 14, 24 states were still ordering people to wear masks in most settings, vaccinated or not.
The revised guidance comes several weeks after the CDC said it was safe for vaccinated individuals to remove their masks while outdoors. The agency received pushback from members of the public and members of Congress because multiple studies have shown masks provide negligible protection from COVID-19. The CDC was also criticized for creating vaccine hesitancy by still insisting vaccinated individuals wear masks indoors.
The CDC’s changing rules are puzzling, especially after the agency reported 141.8 million people receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of April 27, with 96,747,454 fully vaccinated. The CDC states that fully vaccinated people can take off their mask when attending small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated or unvaccinated family and friends; walking, running, or biking outdoors with members of the same household; or dining outdoors. However, the CDC cautions that fully vaccinated people should not take off their masks during a crowded outdoor event or in any indoor setting outside of one’s home.
People who are not vaccinated, including children, are told to mask up in just about all circumstances except walking, running, or biking outdoors with members of the same household and attending small, outdoor gatherings with those fully vaccinated.
Although many states have removed their mask mandates, the tentacles of the guidance extend deeply into the private sector. Businesses and employers may be held liable for violating federal guidance. Several states are still mandating masks, and in some cases are even broadening the rules to include toddlers, like in Michigan. Student-athletes are required to mask up during competition—which ended up harming an athlete in one case, where a high school runner wearing a mask collapsed during a track meet while she was trying to break her record.
Studies Debunking Masks
There have been a number of studies and articles debunking the effectiveness of masks in protecting people from the virus. Below is a sampling of articles including links to scientific papers on masks:
Outdoor Transmission Accounts for 0.1 Percent of State’s Covid-19 Cases
Restrictions, Masks Fail to Stop COVID Case Growth
CDC Finds Masks, Indoor Dining Bans Don’t Stop Virus, Media Ignores
Large Randomized Trial Shows Masks Offer Little Protection Against Virus
Do Masks Protect People from Virus, CDC?
Mask Mandates Persist Despite Cautionary Article Early in Pandemic
SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Among Marine Recruits During Quarantine
Unmasking the Surgeons: the Evidence Base Behind the Use of Facemasks in Surgery
AnneMarie Schieber (amschieber@heartland.org) is the managing editor of Health Care News.
Internet info:
Links to mask studies, “CDC, Biden Insist on Masks, Despite Vaccine Compliance,” The Heartland Daily News, April 28, 2021: https://heartlanddailynews.com/2021/04/cdc-biden-insist-on-masks-despite-vaccine-compliance/