CDC Update: Masks Off for Fully Vaccinated Americans?

Navigate Left
Navigate Right
Navigate Left
Navigate Right

As of Tuesday, April 27, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, otherwise known as the CDC, announced that, with the exception of largely crowded settings and venues, fully vaccinated Americans may now safely gather or conduct activities outdoors without a mask around a minimal amount of people.

With about 252 million COVID-19 vaccines already administered to Americans, things are looking up for the future of the country. President Joe Biden took to Twitter saying “Because of the extraordinary progress we’ve made in the fight against COVID-19, the CDC made a big announcement today: If you are fully vaccinated — and if you are outdoors and not in a large crowd — you no longer need to wear a mask.”

Although, not to be forgotten, to be considered fully vaccinated specifically means having endured two weeks after the second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine. If the requirements have not been met, a person is not fully vaccinated, therefore continuing to take precautions is vital.

Some people are not too comfortable with this development quite yet, with masks having been a life-saving tool and an important part of many people’s lives in the past year, it is difficult to transition. Even though the increasing eagerness for a mask-free summer is hoped for by most Americans, people still feel exposed and unsafe with these new guidelines.

Of course, fully vaccinated people should still protect themselves and others in certain situations by wearing a mask that fits snugly against the sides of the face and doesn’t leave open gaps. This precaution is immensely important when in indoor public settings, such as gathering indoors with unvaccinated people from more than one other household, being in particularly large gatherings whether it be indoors or outdoors, and when traveling away from home.

Living in a pandemic for more than a year now, everyone has figured out how to deal and cope with the COVID pandemic differently, some individuals cannot wait to return to normal life, while others are hesitant to move on. Luckily, the CDC’s announcement is an optional decision that fully vaccinated people can freely make and decide in their own time.