(OPINION) ETH – Following a major announcement today from the CDC, easing mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people allowing them to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings, President Joe Biden addressed the new guideline stating:
“Today is a great day for America,” “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 Daily Herald,
The new guidelines will still call for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons, and homeless shelters, but will help reopen workplaces, schools, and other venues — even removing the need for social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated. “We have all longed for this moment — when we can get back to some sense of normalcy,” said Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said at an earlier White House briefing.
The announcement follows the CDC and the Biden administration facing continual pressure to ease restrictions on fully vaccinated people. “Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities — large or small — without wearing a mask or physically distancing,” Walensky said.
“If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.” “We’re not going to go out and arrest people,” added Biden, who said he believes the American people want to take care of their neighbors. “If you haven’t been vaccinated, wear your mask for your own protection and the protection of the people who also have not been vaccinated yet.”
