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Starbucks and Target are the latest major U.S. companies to re-examine their mask policies after the country’s health agency said last week that fully vaccinated people should no longer take them inside.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that fully vaccinated people could stop wearing face covers in most indoor and outdoor environments, unless states or companies require it.
The loosening of restrictions has left companies struggling to reconsider their own mask policies. Some department stores like Walmart, Costco and Trader Joe’s eliminated the mask requirement for vaccinated shoppers over the weekend, while others like Macy’s department stores maintain their mask mandates for now.
Target said Monday that fully vaccinated clients and staff should no longer wear masks, but that “facial covers are still strongly recommended for guests and team members who are not fully vaccinated.”
As of Monday, fully vaccinated Starbucks customers have the option to go without masks, as long as local law allows, the company said. At CVS, fully vaccinated customers will not be required to wear masks, although pharmacy chain employees will continue to do so.
The decision to set aside the need to cover one’s face for fully vaccinated people occurred in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations. keep falling in the US. Almost 40% of the population is completely vaccinated.
But the CDC ad means companies and buyers need to trust trust, which causes suspicion and anger. Given the legal and ethical problem it raises the prospect of vaccine passports, companies do not seek vaccination evidence from customers, which means unvaccinated buyers could enter without a mask.
National Nurses United, the largest nurses’ union in the United States, condemned the CDC’s decision, which Bonnie Castillo, executive director, said “does not protect public health and threatens the lives of patients, nurses and other workers.” front line nationwide.
“Now is not the time to relax protective measures and we are outraged that the CDC has done so even though we are still in the midst of the deadliest pandemic of a century,” he added.
Some U.S. states have also decided to relax the mask guide to align it with the CDC update, including Colorado and Pennsylvania. Some, like Texas, had already abandoned mask requirements.
New York will also adopt the updated guidelines beginning May 19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday, though he said masks would still be needed in some places, such as hospitals and public transportation.
The CDC considers that people are fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the Johnson & Johnson single vaccine or the second dose of Modern or BioNTech / Pfizer. The new targeting is based on data showing that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have coronavirus or transmit the virus to other people, the agency said.
Some vaccinated people will continue to wear masks, believing that the number of fully immunized people across the country should be much greater before they feel comfortable enough to completely remove their masks.
“I don’t think there are enough people vaccinated yet. I just think [the CDC] I rushed it, “said Cathie English, a California reiki instructor.” We need to reach a higher vaccination rate. Both my husband and I are completely vaccinated, but I’ll definitely put on a mask when I’m in ‘interior’.
Additional reports from Peter Wells in New York
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