Following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s announcement that the fully vaccinated in the U.S. can opt to ditch masks indoors or outdoors in most cases, more than a dozen states are embracing the dawn of a new era as they no longer need to make fully vaccinated Americans wear masks. Despite many Americans being ecstatic, some other states and cities, as well as some major businesses are still skeptical as to whether it’s safe to ditch masks. And after the CDC’s new guideline came, confusion is mounting as state leaders were scrambling on Friday to decide how to respond to the new guidance from the CDC.
Is the U.S. going maskless? Since the onset of the pandemic, COVID has rampaged through every nook and cranny of the United States, and Americans have been stuck wearing masks when going outdoors. But now, yes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. says fully vaccinated Americans do not need to wear masks outdoors and can mostly ditch masks indoors.
The updated guidance is believed to allow normalcy to return to the U.S. soon, as the U.S. recently saw the lowest number of COVID deaths.
And President Joe Biden celebrated as he said it was a “great day for America”.
Restaurants in the U.S. have let workers know they can forgo masks at work only if they are fully vaccinated.
Many Americans are ecstatic because they think the new guidance implies they are one step closer to winning the fight against COVID. Masks have all but disappeared in many parts of the U.S. as a result.
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, Costco and Trader Joe’s said on Friday that starting today or the next week, they won’t require vaccinated shoppers to wear masks in their stores, unless states or local laws say otherwise.
But be that as it may, some fully vaccinated Americans are still skeptical as to whether it’s safe to ditch masks now. “I’m nervous about it. I just don’t feel safe because vaccination rates are going down, and I’m worried about the mutations.” Said Allison Douma. She was fully vaccinated last month. She learned of the spread of the more contagious virus variants and she expressed concerns over whether it’s safe to ditch masks when COVID has yet to give up rampaging through every nook and cranny of the world.
But a pizzeria worker in Lubbock in Texas expressed doubt as to whether masks worked well in stopping the virus. “I don’t think masks worked as well in stopping the virus. People did not even wear them properly in the first place.”
Data shows nearly 47 percent of the U.S.’ population has received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, and cases have dropped to their lowest level since September, at an average of about 35,000 a day.
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