CDC ruling surprises, roils some parents

ates Petite León in South Minneapolis, said he wasn’t surprised by the mixed messages from government and health officials.

“It’s been like that from the beginning,” he said. “One minute it’s this, the next minute it’s that . ... You get tons of conflicting messages, and then all of the sudden one day without notice, no more mask.”

The CDC ruling is expected to accelerate an already busy summer of travel for vacations, barbecues and family reunions.

In Las Vegas, casino operators are bracing for a surge of visitors. But even as resorts such as Wynn Resorts and the Venetian posted signs at entrances Friday stating that vaccinated individuals could go maskless, a majority of visitors kept the cloth coverings in place.

Ricky Rodriguez, a bartender at REBAR in the city’s downtown Arts District, is fully vaccinated but said he is going to play it cautiously.

“In the beginning, I wasn’t a believer. I thought it was just the flu,” the 33-year-old said. It wasn’t until a close friend contracted the virus and died of a blood clot at age 30 that he took it seriously.

“I’m happy everything is opening back up and that there is going to be some sort of normalcy, but I’m going to take precautions and sanitize my hands, wear my mask and keep my distance,” he said between pouring customers drinks. “I’m still going to be careful.”

The CDC’S surprise announcement also roiled parents of young children, who can’t yet get vaccinated.

“It’s hard to know that you can trust if people are vaccinated or if they just don’t want to wear a mask. It’s like a free pass to stop being considerate of the vulnerable populations who can’t get vaccinated,” said Kelsey Gorder, 30, a mother in San Francisco.

Gorder and her husband are both fully vaccinated. But with three unvaccinated kids at home under 6, one who is medically high risk, they’re not taking off masks anytime soon.

She wants to set a good example for her kids, but is also uncomfortable with how fast things are moving.

“I get it, they’re getting more data and more information. But having spent the last 14 months quarantined and masked, to all the sudden say, ‘Oh it’s cool, you don’t really have to anymore,’ seems really premature,” Gorder said.

Jacob Schwandt, a 26year-old government and civics teacher at Oldham County High School near Louisville, said he got vaccinated to spend time with his asthmatic dad. He said people aren’t even trying to abide by safety recommendations anymore and the CDC’S Thursday ruling will only make it harder.

“The amount of time I spend each day prompting students to pull their mask up or put their mask back on is staggering,” he said.

In theory, he’s excited about an end to masking. But he’s worried about his workplace, which is full of unvaccinated young people who don’t typically follow social distancing rules and are vocal about their families’ opposition to vaccination.

And Schwandt doesn’t think the CDC’S new guidelines will lead to more vaccinations.

“Honestly, I believe that anyone who wanted to be vaccinated already has been, or has plans to become vaccinated,” Schwandt said. “The announcement felt more like an appeasement to those who are jaded with the safety protocols.”

“People are tired of this,” he said. “It’s going to be nuts.”