- The CDC’s encouragement for vaccinated people to drop their masks may act as an incentive for more people to get the shot.
- Though the agency said that wasn’t the reason for the change — it cited scientific studies showing the effectiveness of the vaccines.
- The change came as governments and businesses have unveiled a range of more tangible inducements, from free doughnuts and drinks to time off and cash bonuses.
- The ultimate example arrived this week when the state of Ohio announced it would award a million dollars each week for five weeks to the winners of a special lottery-style drawing if they’re vaccinated.
A recent news article published in the CNN by Richard Galant reveals that CDC guidance startles America.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcement
On Thursday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surprised many with a sweeping announcement: it’s OK for fully vaccinated people to take off their masks in most settings.
“It’s happening. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has liberated Americans who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 from our masks. Indoors and out, in most situations, we can finally roam face-out again,” exulted SE Cupp.
“After a year of stuffy-face condensation, fogged-up glasses, smeared lipstick, ‘mascne,’ and ‘I can’t tell who that is’ polite nodding, won’t it be spectacular to feel the sun on our cheeks and the wind on our teeth?“
Changing the guidance is one thing. Getting people who have spent a year wearing face-coverings to adapt to the new rules — which still require masks in transportation and health care settings — is another. And there’s no outward way to tell who has been vaccinated and who has not.
Questions by David Holtgrave
David Holtgrave, dean of the University at Albany School of Public Health, and epidemiologist Eli Rosenberg are among those raising questions about the CDC’s unmasking guidance.
The vaccines in the US “have outstanding effectiveness and should be fully utilized,” they wrote. “Unfortunately, we are still not across the finish line with Covid in the US. There is still a Covid death about every 2.5 minutes in the nation, and serious racial and ethnic disparities … A central mistake in public health is easing up infectious disease control efforts just before crossing the finish line. Unfortunately, and we suspect inadvertently, that is what the CDC did on Thursday.”
Some important measures to be followed
Keeping our guard up against a sudden spike in the pandemic is crucial.
Anything less than 100% of students being offered the option to return to in-person learning full-time is not enough.
The way to get people vaccinated should be simply to require vaccination or documented medical exemption in order to return to schools, businesses, and crowded public spaces.
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Source: CNN
