Guidance

Photo by Uriel Mont from Pexels

I was kind of nervous going to the supermarket the day after the CDC's revised mask guidance. Even though our state's mask mandate is still in place, would it be a maskless free-for-all in there? So I was very relieved that every person in the store was wearing a mask - I only saw two noses sticking out. The young man who rang me up was even double masked.

The next day we went to the pet store. Everyone in there had masks on, but as we were checking out, a man entered without a mask and asked our cashier, "Do we need to wear masks?" as he walked past. The cashier asked if he was vaccinated, the man said yes, and the cashier said he was fine without a mask. My husband and I were kind of joking to each other about how anyone could just say they were vaccinated, and the young cashier even joined in and agreed, but even though they may have had personal safety concerns, I bet it was nice to not have to worry about trying to enforce a mask policy with belligerent customers. I know there are people who aren't wearing masks just to try to cause a scene or stir people up. If it's not a big deal and they're just waved through, it may lose its appeal.

Following the pet store we went to our local outdoor farmer's market, where again, almost everyone was still wearing masks. It was definitely less tense than this time last year. We even bought lunch from a food truck and ate in a little picnic area, with other people around us (6+ feet away) - the second meal I've eaten outside my home since last March.

There are definitely many concerns about the CDC's statement, and a variety of organizations saying it's too soon. If this was meant to entice the vaccine hesitant, mask wearing was the least of their concerns. If this is meant to be a reward for the vaccinated, most of us are still planning to continue to wear masks. And the guidance is to still wear them in crowded or confined situations. So far, everyone is talking about it, but nothing has really changed, at least where I am.