After the surprise of the lifting by the American health authorities of the recommendation to wear a mask for people vaccinated against Covid-19, there arose heated debates and some confusion in the country, Friday, May 14.
Even in Congress, altercations erupted as some elected officials were pressured to remove their masks, despite Joe Biden’s calls the day before that it be “Treated with kindness and respect” those preferring to keep it.
The directive, simple at first glance, did not fail to raise a tangle of questions, in a country where the debate around the mask had become, at the time of its generalization more than a year ago, a political issue – the pro-Trump refusing to wear it.
Because the recommendations announced Thursday by the main federal public health agency of the country (CDC) are not binding: in addition to not applying in transport and hospitals, the authorities specify that they are not valid if the mask rest “Required by federal, state, local laws and regulations” or “The directives of stores and companies”. A situation that has left employers and local decision-makers destitute, forced to decide between scientific recommendations and the concerns of Americans still shaken by the repercussions of the virus.
Local disparities
With regard to the recommendations, the cities or territories will therefore have the last word, causing a patchwork. In New York but also in Washington, officials soberly let it be known that they were going to ” to study “ the new recommendations.
In Minnesota and Pennsylvania, current obligations were immediately updated. Virginia and Maryland, for their part, finally announced that they would comply on Saturday. In Connecticut, the new rule will not apply until next week.
In many places, the recommendation will not ultimately change much: in Texas, the obligation to wear a mask was for example lifted in March … including for the unvaccinated.
A debate within companies
The question also arose for supermarkets, many of which had made it compulsory for all their customers to wear masks. After a day of reflection, Trader Joe’s, the number one American retailer in Walmart and low-cost supermarkets Costco announced that it is complying with the new recommendations. On the contrary, Aldi has announced that it is maintaining the status quo.
Other companies remained hesitant: in the factories of General Motors, the mask remains in force for the duration of” to study “ the new directives. In Las Vegas, Wynn and Encore casinos are waiving the obligation for their “Guests” if they are “Fully vaccinated”, according to a statement. The group says “Trust” to customers to make the decision “Appropriate”.
“CDC recommendations cause confusion”, complained the UFCW distribution union. The “Essential workers are frequently exposed to individuals who are not vaccinated and refuse to wear masks. (…) Are they supposed to become the vaccination policemen? “
Because a question remains: how to check if people without a mask are vaccinated? In the United States, the idea of “Health passport” national has clearly been ruled out.
No consensus on this measure
Most scientists, who considered the health recommendations to be too cautious for a long time, applauded the new announcements.
Vaccines are effective against variants, drastically reduce the very possibility of even getting infected (and not just developing symptoms) and, in the rare cases where the disease does occur anyway, the viral load is reduced, concluded studies. They therefore show that vaccinated people (nearly 36% of the population in the United States) do not put themselves or others in danger when they do not wear a mask. Not to mention that the daily cases have fallen sharply at the national level.
Moreover, in a country where the supply of vaccines now exceeds demand, the authorities hope to encourage the reluctant to take the plunge.
However, some experts have expressed reservations, especially for areas where transmission rates are still high: epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers would have preferred to see this announcement linked locally to a condition of “Less than five daily cases per 100,000 people”. “Give people time to organize”, also regretted Linsey Marr, specialist in the air transmission of viruses.
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