The coronavirus pandemic has altered life as we know it for the past year. From social distancing to working from home and even being required to wear masks. Now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are easing mask-wearing guidance for some individuals. Thursday, May 13 the CDC made an announcement that fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings. During a Rose Garden address heralding the new guidance President Joe Biden said
“If you are fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask,” he said, summarizing the new guidance and encouraging more Americans to roll up their sleeves. “Get vaccinated — or wear a mask until you do.”
According to the Associated Press, The guidance still requires people to wear masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, but it will help clear the way for reopening workplaces, schools and other venues — even removing the need for social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated.
AP reports, the Biden administration and the CDC have been facing pressure to loosen restrictions on fully vaccinated people. Meaning, people who are two weeks past their last required COVID-19 vaccine dose wouldn’t have to wear masks, which highlights the benefits of getting the shot. Since encouraging the the nation to get vaccinated, the U.S. virus cases are at their lowest rate since September, deaths are at their lowest point since last April and the test positivity rate is at the lowest point since the pandemic began.
