Start ditching face masks now

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in USA released mask guidelines last week, suggesting that the people in America who are fully vaccinated need no more face masks in most settings. People who are not or partially vaccinated should still wear masks, but ultimately it is up to the States to decide whether to follow these recommendations.

CDC defines the person who has finished the vaccine as the second injection of either Moderna or Pfizer has been completed. 

The guidance was released based on two recent scientific reasearches found that the population who had completed vaccination rarely infected Coronavirus and rarely transmitted the virus, and the vaccine also had good protection effect on several known variants.

The latest data show that the number of cases in 50 statess in the United States is declining, with the proportion of adults who have received at least one rejection of vaccine in the United States rising to 60%. At present, the average daily death rate of 7 days in the United States has finally been lower than 600 people, which is the lowest level in the past 13 months. The average 7-day positive rate in each state has reached the lowest level since the beginning of the epidemic. Public health experts in the United States attribute these changes to vaccination.

The CDC's guidelines for relaxing masks have been questioned and even criticized by part of people, critics believe that this will create a very a great dilemma for retailers and their employees in the United States this summer. Because retailers and their employees are not able to judge who has been vaccinated, who has not been vaccinated, and whether the person should wear masks. But there are also a lot of retail players who have made the statements, allowing vaccinated customers no longer need to wear masks indoors，including the Walmart, Costco, Sam's club and Starbucks. Costco also announced a statement that they would not ask people without masks to show the vaccination certificate.

New York State and California have said they accept the CDC guidelines, and New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York will accept the latest guidelines announced by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, and will no longer require vaccinated people to wear masks indoors since May 19, except in a few cases. Under the latest federal guidelines, masks are still required for public transport systems, pension homes, tourist shelters, correctional institutions, schools and medical institutions. Additional provisions can still be implemented in private places as needed. California Health Department also announced on Monday that vaccinated people are no longer required to wear masks indoors, with the exception of a few cases, starting from June 15.