(CN) — The metrics used to define the state of the pandemic have shifted. From discussion of hospital capacity, case and death rates only months ago to the current most-invoked parameter: how many Americans have been vaccinated.
After a six-month push — one that was largely decentralized, with state and local governments left to create their own rollout plans as many called for more federal oversight — the United States crossed a notable halfway mark on Tuesday, fully vaccinating 50% of adults.
The news comes on the heels of relaxed indoor mask guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, signaling yet another shift in the state of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Where exactly things stand, and whether the CDC was premature in allowing vaccinated people to unmask in most places, depends on who you ask. Some experts agree that it’s time to move forward, given increasing vaccination rates and the onset of summer. Others, more wary of a potential uptick in cases caused in part by patchy vaccination coverage, would prefer to see masking continue in the immediate future.
Allowing people to drop their masks only once vaccinated also raises new questions about how businesses are supposed to confirm vaccine status, and what role governments should play in the process.
Health law and epidemiology experts weighed in on mask mandates, vaccine passports and where we stand in the pandemic.
Masks on the Honor System
In an announcement that came as a surprise to many, the CDC on May 13 issued new rules saying those who are fully vaccinated can safely enter most indoor settings without a mask.
Not everyone agrees that the country was ready to ramp things up so soon.
“I think the CDC made a mistake,” Sharona Hoffman, a professor of health law at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, said in a phone interview.
“I think it’s premature to say people don’t need to wear masks indoors — which of course, predictably, caused states and localities to lift mask mandates, and to switch to an honor system.”
Indeed, nearly every state has lifted its indoor mask mandate in the wake of the CDC announcement.
New Jersey, one of a handful of holdouts, now plans to make that move this Friday, ahead of Memorial Day weekend. Governor Phil Murphy said he stands by the decision to wait before adopting the recent CDC rules.
"We did not act in a knee-jerk fashion,” Murphy said. “I do not for one minute regret our taking these extra two weeks.”
California is waiting even longer; the state plans to lift indoor mask rules on June 15, when the state plans to fully reopen its economy.
For now, masks are not required outdoors except at crowded events and, for unvaccinated people, when social distancing is not possible.
“This four-week period will give Californians time to prepare for this change while we continue our relentless focus on delivering vaccines, particularly in underserved communities,” the California Department of Public Health said in a statement. “We urge all Californians to get vaccinated to ensure that infection and hospitalization rates remain low across the state and that we can all return to the activities we love.”
Even if many state governments are on the same page about mask rules, however, enforcement is a separate question.
Rather than put its hopes on the good faith of its residents, the state of Oregon is requiring businesses to check for vaccination status. That may be easier said than done, according to restaurant owners and workers in the state.
Jason Jugling, who owns the Ontario, Ore., restaurant Plaza Inn is still requiring masks for now. That hasn’t been an issue for the 60% to 70% of customers who come in with a mask, he told KTVB.
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