Lifting the mask for vaccines is causing confusion in the United States

Washington | Mask or mask or not? The lifting of the recommendation by U.S. health officials to wear a mask for people who have been vaccinated against Kovid-19 has come as a surprise to local officials, experts and organizations in the United States, causing intense debate and confusion on Friday. Country.

Also read: The end of the mask inside for vaccinated Americans

Also read: Biden hailed it as a ‘big day’ in the fight against the pandemic

Even in Congress, the controversy erupted, with some elected officials being forced to remove their masks, despite calls from Joe Biden the day before that those who wished to keep it “should be treated with kindness and respect”.

The simplest command at first glance, in a country that has long been the center of the epidemic and has become a debate around the mask, has failed to raise the implication of questions, more than a year during its normalization, a political issue.

The country’s main Federal Public Health Agency (CDC) will not comply with the recommendations announced Thursday: in addition to not applying in transportation and hospitals, officials say the mask is invalid if left “federal, state, local laws and regulations” or “store and business guidelines.”

The consequences of the virus left homeowners and local decision-makers homeless, forcing them to make a decision amid scientific recommendations and concerns from Americans.

“Before, masks were important and all of a sudden they are no longer there,” said Evan Matta, 47, who works at a tourism company in New York. “My fear is, how are you going to check if people are fully immune?” I believe there are a lot of people who have not been vaccinated but have not used the mask. ”

In fact, fewer ways to verify: In the United States, the national “health passport” is explicitly rejected.

Patchwork of regulations

Responsible people have indicated that they are going to “study” the new recommendations, not only in New York but also in Washington.

Symbolizing this embarrassment, First Lady Jill Biden removed her mask the day before when she visited the vaccination center (“We feel so naked!”, She was shocked), and again wore the famous protection in a museum in the capital. Thursday.

Elsewhere, patchwork continues: In Minnesota and Pennsylvania, current responsibilities are immediately updated. Virginia and Maryland announced their commitment on Saturday for their part. In Connecticut, the new rule will not apply until next week.

In many places, the recommendation will not change much in the end: in Texas, the obligation to wear a mask was lifted in March … including unintentional ones.

This question also arose for supermarkets, many of whom introduced the obligation to wear masks to all their customers.

One day after the reflection, Trader Jose and the number one American retailer Walmart announced that everyone was following the new recommendations. On the contrary, Aldi declared that the status quo should continue.

Other companies were skeptical: in General Motors’ factories, the mask would be tough to “study” new orders.

“The CDC recommendations are confusing,” the UFCW distribution committee complained. “Necessary workers often suffer from people who are not vaccinated and refuse to wear masks. (…) Should they become vaccinated police officers?”

Encourage vaccinations

However, many scientists, who felt that the health recommendations were too careful, appreciated the new announcements.

Vaccines are effective against variants, also drastically reducing the chance of contracting the disease (and not just developing symptoms) and, in rare cases, however, the viral load is reduced, studies conclude.

They therefore show that vaccinated individuals (approximately 36% of the population in the United States) do not endanger themselves or others when not wearing a mask. Not to mention the fact that everyday cases have dropped well at the national level.

Moreover, in a country where the supply of vaccines now exceeds demand, officials hope to encourage those who are reluctant to fall.

However, some experts have expressed reservations, especially for areas with even higher transmission rates: epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers prefers to link this statement locally to “less than 5 cases per 100,000 people”.

“Give people time to manage,” said Linsey Marr, an expert on the airborne transmission of viruses.