I notice there are no religious exceptions in the VA law, and of course there are many situations where women do conceal their faces and that is the purpose of the scarf, veil, hajib, etc. Maybe those aren’t considered masks?
Since the mandate a week (?) ago that masks are unnecessary for vaccinated people outside and not standing still in a crowd, I have been wearing a simple surgical mask pulled down under my chin. When I pass a masked person on the sidewalk, I pull it up out of courtesy, and when I go into a store or my office building or down the steps to and into the subway, I pull it up. I did a psychotherapy session face to face with a client that I know is fully vaccinated, and we unmasked, just stayed 6 feet apart. It’s nice to be able to relax a bit. I’m getting used to it!
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I am not wearing it except as noted in the guideline. Freedom! Finally. I can’t wait to go out without a mask. I am not worried about getting the virus. I rarely get sick from anything. Between my strong immune system and very effective vaccine, the chances of getting sick will be smaller than getting run over by a car.
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I will go without a mask wherever I am allowed to. I am fully vaccinated and in my area the number of cases right now is really low. I am not “anti-mask”, but I don’t like wearing them if I don’t have to.
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This sums up my hesitation to go maskless: CDC says no masks are needed if vaccinated. But there are plenty of reasons to wear them.
The “out of courtesy” is an interesting issue. I do and many of my friends do. However, I’m starting to think that the ones who are not being courteous are the folks who haven’t been vaccinated. The CDC made it pretty clear there is no (or miniscule) health challenge in not wearing the mask if vaccinated. By continuing to wear it around others, aren’t we just condoning their actions that are potentially harming themselves and others? Isn’t that the wrong message?
I don’t stop eating sweets around a diabetic or various fried food around a heart patient (actually I am the heart patient so I don’t eat that but I certainly don’t expect others or could care less if they avoid those treats around me). Why has covid become so polarizing?
My personal belief is from the start, the media used covid as a wedge to divide politiical views, and they’re reluctant to give up control. If it was really ever “about the science” we would have been hearing very different and uniform messaging.
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Yes. It’s been several years, but I think it came to be after people started wearing Scream masks or clown masks terrorizing people.
I do think the governor or AG or legislature will do something to clarify or change the law. The governor is a doctor and has been pretty reasonable throughout the pandemic. But there are many areas where the majority do not like him, are anti mask, and are very vocal. See the counties whose board of supervisors passed resolutions saying they didn’t have to follow the governor’s orders. If the law isn’t modified, you are going to have a lot of people who are demanding people be held accountable for breaking the law. After all, they were hassled, shamed, etc. for not wearing one when it wasn’t an actual law.
The irony of all this is…the same people who are hesitant to do “more” normal things even with masks (me, I’m slow to flip the switch) will not be even more hesitant to do “more” because if the relaxed (indoor) guidelines.
Yet many who were more eager and comfortable to do more are having mask burning parties (literally saw someone on my FB feed planning this)
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I truly believe that the shut-down of in-person education at all levels constituted an absolute disaster for the educational and psychological well-being of children and young people, and we will be grappling with the fallout from this disaster for years to come. It is imperative that we get young people back into in-person schooling by the fall. We need to get over the timidity and fear. Vaccines work. The CDC is incentivizing mass vaccination, as it should. I read the NYT comments today about masks and it struck me that many of these people don’t have young kids or are in a situation where they can easily self-isolate, and they like it that way. But people shouldn’t turn a preference into a virtue. It is normal to not like wearing a mask. It is normal to want to see the faces of those you interact with. It’s normal to want to be able to speak clearly and be heard. It’ s not a sign that you are “anti-science” or prioritize bar-hopping over grandma’s health. Mask-burning parties are dumb but so is clinging to the mask like some sort of talisman. A balance is needed.
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There is still a portion of the population who wants vaccine but has not had a chance to be fully vaccinated, although this is shrinking rapidly now.
In theory, by mid-to-late June for adults and some time in July for age 12-15, there should not be any more involuntarily unvaccinated people other than those medically unable and children under 12.
Yes, CDC is trying to incentivize. However, I don’t think the incentive will be sufficient. People who’re hesitant to be vaccinated are motivated by a variety of reasons. Many of them, unfortunately, will remain hesitant, even with the incentive.
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Was that the concern in 1950, which the footnotes on the page with the law suggest it was first enacted?
I am mixed on this new guidance. Not everyone who wants to be vaccinated has achieved full vaccination yet. From first vaccine to fully vaccinated take 5 to 6 weeks depending on which vaccine you get. Vaccines have only been readily available around here for a couple weeks, and then there are the teens who just became eligible and kids who are still waiting.
My son got his first vaccine as soon as he could and is currently 2 1/2 weeks past his first shot of moderna. He will be fully vaccinated in early June. I know many are excited about not wearing a mask but I do worry about those who are still in the process of being vaccinated. I don’t worry about those that have chosen not to be vaccinated.
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Maybe. I wasn’t around then. I remember it being brought up when we had issues with the screen masks and clowns.
The point is that vaccinated people pose essentially no risk of Covid transmission to others, whether they’re wearing masks or not. Aside from weird breakthroughs like the Yankees outbreak, vaccinated people don’t get Covid – certainly not in numbers large enough to continue driving mask policy. And though this seems obvious, I think people forget that you can’t get Covid from someone who doesn’t have Covid. The act of not wearing a mask can’t create the virus where it doesn’t exist. So people who are in the process of being vaccinated should continue being prudent, but fully vaccinated people who properly follow the new mask rules aren’t endangering them.
At any rate, it sounds like most businesses and blue-state governments aren’t rushing to adopt the new guidance. Businesses have no desire to parse who is and isn’t vaccinated, and there’s little downside for them in an abundance of caution. Could change as state health authorities have a chance to digest the CDC guidance and adjust their own. But even in the red states that have “opened up too soon,” Covid rates are in decline. The trend is positive or neutral in every state except Mississippi. Vaccines work, and will keep working.
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Yes, that may be why they are waiting until the unvaccinated people are largely those who are voluntarily unvaccinated, rather than those still waiting to be fully vaccinated after starting their shots.
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Heard an interesting take on vaccine passports, certificates, whatever your name of choice is. Public health expert stated that he was able to give up his fingerprints and topography of his irises (eyes) to TSA just to get off of a plane faster, why can’t he give up his vaccine info voluntarily to travel and go through life more safely?
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CDC’s new guidelines may be a little premature. New cases in UK are rising again, mostly due to the Indian variant.
In our world, we are concerned about our grand baby. She is unvaccinated, and we don’t want to take chances with possible exposure to unvaccinated people. H’s family is planning a memorial for his dad, who passed away in early January. D (and baby) will not be attending. I know that his sister & her family think we’re ridiculous being worried. But we know for sure that his sister is not getting vaccinated, and she doesn’t even take basic precautions (like hand washing - yes, I do know this for a fact). So H will be talked about behind his back, but it is what it is.
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This thing about based on science, it isn’t science alone that decides. Science can tell you how far aerosol will travel on a Gaussian curve. Most of them will be around the average distance, probably less than 6’. I am guessing 6’ is the outer limit of 2 standard deviations. Some will travel much further, almost to infinity. That’s where science stops. Someone else has to call the number, safe beyond 6’. Of course, not 100% safe. How safe is safe, 90%, 80%? That is a human/individual/political decision. I chose my risk level I am comfortable with. I don’t judge others one way or other for their choice. I am certainly not a transmitter. My immune system seems to be doing a good job killing off germs so far. They don’t get out of my body alive.