Masks up or down, given CDC update?
After new CDC guidelines, is it masks up or masks down when you leave the house?
That’s our Question of the Week for readers.
With better, highly encouraging numbers through much of the nation on novel coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths, the Centers for Disease Control last Thursday announced a surprisingly dramatic lowering of face mask guidelines in the fight against the spread of COVID-19.
The federal agency now says that fully vaccinated Americans don’t have to wear masks in many places — either inside or outdoors.
Is that the right call at the right time?
Was it politically motivated on the part of the Biden administration, some kind of an effort to appear less intrusive in Americans’ lives in the name of public health after 14 months of various lockdowns?
Or was it just “following the science”?
That’s how President Biden sees it. He said Thursday’s relaxations mark “a great day for America” that was “made possible by the extraordinary success we’ve had in vaccinating so many Americans so quickly.”
Is he right?
Or is California Gov. Gavin Newsom right when he says the federal recommendations have “created some new anxiety for many: that it may be too soon, too much.”
It’s not just in highly vaccinated California that there is some cautious pushback. The Los Angeles Times quotes Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health: “Here’s my personal practice for now: Continue indoor masking in public places like grocery stores until more are vaccinated, infection numbers are down.”
Clearly, even some vaccinated Southern Californians have mixed emotions. Perhaps they have just become used to the precaution, feeling almost unclothed without the masks. Many say it’s a sign of politeness to wear one. After all, no one knows which passerby on the sidewalk or in the aisle at Trader Joe’s has been vaccinated. Do you believe in the “courtesy mask” theory until the risk is lower, or are you all in on tossing yours aside?
Email your thoughts to opinion@scng.com. Please include your full name and city or community of residence. Provide a daytime phone number (it will not be published).
MALLARD FILLMORE: By Bruce Tinsley