Swords up! Masks off!
(If you're fully vaccinated, that is)
Pres. Joe Biden announced yesterday a relaxing of pandemic mask restrictions and called it a “great day for America.” If you’re fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, science says you can go back to the world pretty much as it was prior to the pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention basically made the same announcement a few days ago with a nearly indecipherable chart:
Pres. Biden added that some people may feel comfortable keeping their masks on, and he suggested we be kind to one another about that. (As we edge toward 590,000 dead from the coronavirus, it’s understandable that some people will feel comfortable keeping their masks on for a while longer.)
On Sunday, my family is heading for a Yard Goats (isn’t that the best name ever?) baseball game in Hartford. Though the confounding chart above says I don’t have to (the Yard Goats franchise, to my understanding, is still socially distancing its fans in the stands), I’ll have a mask in my pocket. I also have three in my car, and two in my bag. I’ve treated having a mask handy as I treat my multiple reading glasses, scattered around the premises.
You?
The vaccination rate in our town lags behind the state average so I’ll be packing my mask for awhile. I was walking on the sidewalk, approaching a local taco shop to pick up some take out. I took my mask out of my pocket and put it on. A couple passing me smirked and the guy angrily snapped “Hey buddy, you’re outside. You don’t need a mask!” I told him to F off (I was going to tell him he was ugly and stupid but I decided to take the high road). Then I told him I was going in the shop and he should mind his own business. He turned and skulked off like he was the offended one.
Anyway, tens of millions believe the big lie that the election was stolen and that Joe Biden eats babies for breakfast. Do I trust the unvaccinated to wear masks or admit they haven’t gotten the shot or even care if they infect others? Not so much.
I'm thinking the above chart says you do have to still wear a mask at "crowded outdoor sports events". (What if it's not crowded? If they space people out, I don't know why that would be necessary.) We had to wear masks at an outdoor graduation last weekend. We were far away from anyone, so it seemed unnecessary. We wore them anyway. I wonder how long social distancing will be a thing? I'm fully vaccinated and will still carry a mask with me in case someone else is not comfortable with me being without or if it just seems to feel like the right thing to do for other reasons. I do know of people who have contracted COVID despite being vaccinated. They were asymptomatic or had very mild symptoms. I wonder if vaccinated, immune-compromised people are still at risk? (I have so many questions.) I suppose quarantine guidelines should change, too. i.e. If a vaccinated person tests positive, do the people who were in contact with that person no longer need to quarantine, regardless of vaccination status? And do we need to be more careful around infants? (is a lower viral load still a risk to them?)
For me, I feel more free. For others, I wish everyone would get vaccinated! I'm still cautiously optimistic. Though we've come so far in the last year, the people across the globe have a long way to go before feeling safe.
Having said all of that, as of the latest data, 36.3% of people in the US have been fully vaccinated. 46.5% have been fully vaccinated in CT. Globally, estimates are only 4.4% have been fully vaccinated. That's our privilege in numbers.