CHICAGO – Despite millions of people now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, there is still a long way to go before we can return to our pre-pandemic lifestyles. This week, in a series of reports, we’ll look at some of the big questions that many have about how to get back to normal.
The pandemic has made the use of masks ubiquitous. In many places, masks are necessary to enter restaurants, airports and schools. So, when can we safely stop wearing masks?
“I think it’s best to think of it as, ‘When can I do X without wearing a mask?’ And the answer to that question is really different for different activities, explained Dr. Emily Landon, chief epidemiologist and executive medical director of infection prevention and control at the University of Chicago Medical.
“I think that, in time, you will do more and more things without a mask. And, unless there are cases, you will have to put your mask back on for more things again. “
Dr. Landon says it is safe now for people who are fully vaccinated not to wear a mask next to others who are fully vaccinated.
“After I am fully vaccinated, can I spend time with other people who are fully vaccinated in my home without a mask? I think it’s probably very safe, “she explained.
The CDC issued guidance on Monday, stating that fully vaccinated people can also safely meet with a small group, like another family, even if that group has not yet been vaccinated, as long as they are not at high risk of COVID-19 disease. serious.
During the 1918 and 1919 flu pandemic, which killed some 675,000 people in the United States, the use of antimicrobial shields, as they were called, lasted for years. But historians point out that resistance, inconsistency and improper masking, coupled with the use of ineffective materials, probably prolonged the need.
Texas and Mississippi have reopened completely recently, rescinding mask terms to join more than a dozen other states that do not require them.
“Personal surveillance, to follow security standards, is still necessary to contain COVID. It turns out that state mandates are no longer needed, ”said Texas Governor Greg Abbott at the time.
Critics say it is too early.
Dr. Landon says that as positivity rates fall and vaccination rates increase, we will see that some mask requirements decrease rapidly.
“I think that this summer, you will see a lot of people being able to do outdoor activities without a mask. I think in the fall, you will see that many places will begin to relax some of their masking restrictions, “said Dr. Landon.
But it will take some time for immunity to be high enough in the entire population so that we can safely remove the mask in closed public spaces, such as supermarkets and restaurants, when we are close to people we don’t know.
Dr. Landon says that in the next year or two the use of masks will not disappear completely. If we see cases of viruses increasing seasonally, such as in winter, the use of a mask may be necessary.
“I think it’s going to be that kind of pushing and pulling, you know, riding the waves of masking,” said Landon.
Although it is too early to throw on your masks – depending on the circumstances and who you are around – you can use them less and less.