Covid-19 diary: Part 38

By Matthew E. Milliken
MEMwrites.wordpress.com
May 17, 2021

On Sunday, I took a long walk without wearing a mask for the first time in a number of months. It felt odd.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly changed its guidance on Thursday, May 13, announcing that fully vaccinated individuals need not wear masks or social distance in most circumstances. Masks are still mandated for public transportation, including airplanes, and transportation hubs, such as airports and train and bus stations, and should be worn when required by state or local rules or by business or workplace guidance. Masking is also still required for workers and visitors in health-care facilities, although an exception has been carved out when one or more visitors and a patient are alone in a room where everyone present has been vaccinated.

The mask recommendations were lifted because vaccines have proven to be so effective against the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Vaccinated individuals can still get sick and even die from Covid, but such breakthrough infections are rare and tend to be mild. What’s more, vaccinated people don’t seem to pass the disease on to others with any frequency. Further, coronavirus variants by and large appear to be susceptible to the vaccines, despite previous concerns.