By Olivia Yin
The CDC made a recent change to the mask wearing regulations on May 13th. They specifically updated the guidelines for fully vaccinated personnel. The CDC says: “If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic. Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing…”
Although this new regulation may boost people’s positive view on getting the COVID-19 vaccine, I think the guidelines could be confusing overall.
First, the new loose regulation might feel like an invitation for unvaccinated people to not wear masks. There is no way of knowing if unmasked people you walk by are vaccinated or not; it could potentially result in more COVID-19 cases because of unvaccinated people. From the beginning of the pandemic, most of the CDC health guidelines have been rules that everyone must follow: there was no exceptions for certain people. Now, because vaccinated people are allowed to socialize without masks or physical distancing outside, it is harder to tell who is being safe and who isn’t. Therefore, it is a harder regulation to enforce.
I don’t think that this new mandate lifts spirits or encourages getting the vaccine to a significant extent. For the most part, the rate of adults getting vaccinated is slowing because the people who would have gotten vaccinated already are. The people who are most eager to take off their masks are the people who don’t care about the safety of others and aren’t wearing masks anyway.
Many fully vaccinated people I have talked to are hesitant to take off their mask outside even if the CDC allows it. Why? Because they don’t want to look like someone against vaccines and the mask regulations. People don’t feel comfortable taking off their mask because the guidelines and information from the CDC and the government has been confusing from the start. At the beginning, they were too loose on mask regulations in fear of running out of masks. Then they became very strict on mask wearing. Now, all of a sudden fully vaccinated people don’t have to follow the same rules as unvaccinated people.
The reality is that the new guidelines are backed by science; in fact, the New York Times says that “…the share of transmission that has occurred outdoors seems to be below 1 percent and may be below 0.1 percent.” They also said that “It is an example of how the C.D.C. is struggling to communicate effectively, and leaving many people confused about what’s truly risky.” The confusing part of the mask regulations is less about the science and more about the lack of transparent communication that is consistent with previous guidelines.
I think the new CDC mask guideline was made with good intentions, but might give negative results in the end depending on how the public reacts. Hopefully, this change in regulation will lift people’s spirits and encourage more vaccinations.
