May 18, 2021
And Just Like That, Masks Are No Longer Necessary
By
Brian C. Joondeph, M.D.
Forrest Gump, with his simple, commonsensical approach to life, often
noted, “just like that” something changed. Whether it was the rain in Vietnam, his running adventure, or his Army service, “just like that” it was over.
Now after a year of mask-wearing, “just like that” it is no longer necessary per the CDC’s latest guidance. Last week the CDC suddenly reversed course with this new
guidance.
If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.
Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, find a vaccine.
What changed? Only a few months ago, last February, Dr. Anthony Fauci
warned that Americans may still need to wear face masks through 2022 to protect against the spread of COVID, emerging variants, and whatever else might escape from one of the labs he funded.
Around the same time, Dr. Fauci also
recommended wearing two masks, “So if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective.” If one is good, two must be better. Why not 3 or 4 masks? Or ten? Or a hazmat suit for everyone?
This is the same Dr. Fauci who
said a year ago, at the beginning of the pandemic,
There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask. When you’re in the middle of an outbreak, wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better and it might even block a droplet, but it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is. And, often, there are unintended consequences — people keep fiddling with the mask and they keep touching their face.
Fauci wasn’t alone. U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams at that same time
agreed, stating:
You can increase your risk of getting it by wearing a mask if you are not a health care provider. Folks who don't know how to wear them properly tend to touch their faces a lot and actually can increase the spread of coronavirus.
We have now come full circle, from no masks, to one, to two, then back to one, now none. What changed? Has America reached herd immunity? Or is there some other metric that spurred the new CDC recommendation? Such as case numbers? Or President Biden’s poll numbers?