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Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the CDC said

nytimes.com

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Re: Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the CDC said

#171

Post by jancsika »

abduhl wrote: post #40
jasonlaramburu wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are literally zero downsides to wearing a mask in public, and it's crazy that anyone would shame someone for it. In many Asian countries it is considered civilized and thoughtful to wear a mask when feeling ill to prevent the spread of disease. I too hope this becomes the norm in the US.

You don't think that the continual dehumanization of people into creatures with eyes, hair, and without emotions is a downside to wearing a mask in public? A smile as you hold the elevator door for someone goes unseen; all the other person gets is a withering stare from behind a sterile surgeon's mask. A joke that's good enough to make someone grin but not laugh is now a joke that falls flat on its face. An inappropr…

> A smile as you hold the elevator door for someone goes unseen; all the other person gets is a withering stare from behind a sterile surgeon's mask. A joke that's good enough to make someone grin but not laugh is now a joke that falls flat on its face. An inappropriate remark that is met with a frown or pressed lips is now emboldened with apparent silence.

The only significant communicative downside I've felt over a year of regularly wearing a mask in public is a slight latency at the beginning of friendly conversations with other people. Once my voice takes over the task of communicating intention and tone, I'm golden. (And unless every other mask-wearer has been gaslighting me, they have been golden, too, at least wrt to clear communication.)

> Especially when you think of them as more than breathing holes.

This has got to be the cutest expression of concern I've ever seen on HN. I feel like the euphemism "Oh, cheese and crackers!" could easily have been in the next sentence.

Whatever the case, it sure makes a nice counterpoint to a year of watching Facebook's outrage algo convert disinformed mask-less dipshits into unwitting human bioweapons.

Re: Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the CDC said

#172

Post by omosubi »

revscat wrote: post #90
thepasswordis wrote: post #71

How is this not the top story on every single news aggregator in the world right now? This is like the BEST news since the vaccines were approved. This is a HUGE deal. Great job, CDC!

I’ve been wondering the same thing. This is massively good news, and I’m amazed it seems to be getting such short shrift. I went to Taco Bueno on the way home and didn’t wear a mask. Showed the teller the headline… then found out he couldn’t read. So yeah that wasn’t awesome. But this news is . First time I haven’t worn a mask in like a year.

Couldn't read in that he was being dense or couldn't read in that he was actually illiterate? How do you survive like that?

Re: Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the CDC said

#173

Post by samatman »

jasonlaramburu wrote: post #42
abduhl wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't think that the continual dehumanization of people into creatures with eyes, hair, and without emotions is a downside to wearing a mask in public? A smile as you hold the elevator door for someone goes unseen; all the other person gets is a withering stare from behind a sterile surgeon's mask. A joke that's good enough to make someone grin but not laugh is now a joke that falls flat on its face. An inappropr…

I think it should be 100% the wearer's choice whether they want to show the world their face or not. Saying 'thank you' to someone opening the door is just as good as a smile. Nobody 'owes' anyone else anything.

You were allowed to wear a veil before the pandemic as well, and no one is going to stop you now.

I adopted the Asian custom of wearing a surgical mask when feeling under the weather four years ago, for the record. Got a lot of weird looks on the BART, but also some supportive ones from, you guessed it, Asians.

Re: Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the CDC said

#174

Post by QuarterReptile »

paul_f wrote: post #159
ineedasername wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps the Yankees, with 8 vaccinated team members positive with COVID. One of them had even been sick with it before. However it's worth pointing out that they did not get the more effective mRNA versions.

false positives and crappy pcr tests, never meant as diagnostics

To their credit, false positives are the designed nature of PCR.

Re: Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the CDC said

#175

Post by baby »

generj wrote: post #3

It’s good to give better incentives for people to be vaccinated, as many have urged for some time. I worry this carrot isn’t tied to an adequate stick - the unvaccinated can simply go without a mask regardless of their status. Will this move actually counter our slowing vaccination rates?

I traveled a bit during this pandemic and in Arizona it’s like the virus didn’t exist. Nobody was wearing a mask, nobody. Even indoor. Even the waiters.

I’m back in SF now and everybody is wearing the mask. Everybody. The adults, the children, Even the vaccinated people. Yesterday the waiter asked me if we could put back our mask so she could hand us our plate.

Country of extremes. I feel like there’s no going back to normal eventhough I’m fully vaccinated.

Re: Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the CDC said

#176

Post by samatman »

gnicholas wrote: post #104
BurritoAlPastor wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Literally zero downsides” is a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think? Surely you’ll concede that they make your glasses fog up.

And prevent me from unlocking my iPhone!

I knew when Apple released the iOS update that lets my Apple Watch unlock my phone when wearing a mask, that it would mean I would very soon not have to use it anymore. Some corollary of Murphy's Law.

Not that I'm complaining!

Re: Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the CDC said

#177

Post by waiseristy »

dgfitz wrote: post #124
thepasswordis wrote: post #71

How is this not the top story on every single news aggregator in the world right now? This is like the BEST news since the vaccines were approved. This is a HUGE deal. Great job, CDC!

Because masks haven been politicized. Good news be damned.

Unfortunately for many, rescinding the mask mandates means removing a rather convenient tool to twist the arms of their political opponents.

(as evidenced by the sheer number of downvotes in this thread, wowzers)

Re: Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the CDC said

#178

Post by josephcsible »

ninju wrote: post #168
O5vYtytb wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think that the CDC gives guidance based on incentives instead of best health interest? Personally they lost my trust when they told us to not wear masks for some time early in the pandemic.

I believe that guidance was based upon a prioritization necessity to make sure that medical first responders had access to PPE. Once the supply of PPE was great enough the guidance was also changed

The problem is they didn't say "masks work but please save them for first responders until we get more." They said "masks don't work." You can argue they may have had a good reason to lie, but you can't argue that they didn't lie.

Re: Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the CDC said

#179

Post by omosubi »

robbrown451 wrote: post #123
RobertRoberts wrote: post #57

Is living the healthiest life you can live not the best option in every circumstance? It seems society as a whole wants a quick fix, no matter what the problem is or the consequences from a cure.

Sure. And living the healthiest life can include getting vaccinated and wearing a mask. Are you suggesting we just eat good foods and exercise, and that alone will protect us from dying from COVID? I can see an argument that lockdown has had consequences. Mask wearing too, but to a lessor degree. But the vaccine? I'm not seeing serious consequences other than the cost to get it out there. Seems like a win-win, once i…

Long term effects of an unproven technology? Who knows what this will do to your body in 10 or 20 years?

Re: Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the CDC said

#180

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

daenz wrote: post #112
ineedasername wrote: post #91

I don't really understand how places looking to align their precautions with CDC guidelines can do this. We don't have any required vaccination "passport", so if a movie theatre says vaccinated customers don't have to wear masks, how can they possibly tell who is vaccinated without relying on a dubious honor system?

Devil's advocate: people who say "trust the science/scientists" should do so even when they themselves disagree. I don't know your position, but I have seen similar responses to yours from people who I know have taken the position of "trust the scientists." Don't you think that the smart folks at the CDC have gone through a similar thought process as you and are issuing these guidelines regardless? Why would we not t…

I consider myself very "science minded", which is why I absolutely hate the phrase "trust the scientists." Primarily because science is all about having a healthy skepticism, and if anything it's about trusting the scientific process (even then, "trust" is a not a great word here - we "trust" the scientific process because history shows it works).

The CDC has made plenty of mistakes and mishaps during this pandemic, so "trusting" them would be foolhardy in my opinion. That said, the CDC has many brilliant people working for them, and unlike many of their critics in my opinion they are always acting in good faith.

But they still exist in the area of public health policy, which is about much more than just "science". Zeynep Tufekci, a sociologist, has had some of the best articles and analysis throughout the pandemic. She advocated public mask wearing when the CDC was telling people it wasn't necessary, and she just recently said the CDC's mask guidelines were too timid [1].

The message shouldn't be "trust the scientists". The science here is actually not that complicated that most people can't grasp it. The message should be to dig in to the science that is presented so you can make up your own mind.

[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/04/cdc-outdo...

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