'Great day for America': Vaccinated can largely ditch masks

Great job, Mr. President and workers. Last year, America had it rough and was in the dumps but once again (especially with good leadership at the helm), they are showing the world how it's supposed to be done.

What leadership? Are the schools re-opened? What about all the closed businesses that people suffered during the lockdowns and why do people still have to wear a mask? So what leadership are you talking about? A bit confusing....

zichi, Amen!

Ditching masks will be a fine experiment in country that has not reached herd immunity.

Individuals who are able to read the future and offer projections based on their own rather uninformed opinions, should perhaps spend some time at the racetrack testing their skills. Predicting annual SARSCoV-2 inoculations is quaint.

Alongside that is the penchant for declaring masks are unnecessary, which is contrary to well-established scientific fact. There are peer-reviewed scientific journals in virology, immunology and various medical fields attendant to viral disease that establish the fact: wearing a mask reduces the spread of SARSCoV-2. With social distancing and disinfectants and attendant protocols, masks prevent the spread of the virus.

Great job, Mr. President and workers. Last year, America had it rough and was in the dumps but once again (especially with good leadership at the helm), they are showing the world how it's supposed to be done.

This is excellent news for all people for now. Hope they dont mark vaxxed people as unvaxxed again when the annual covid shots become standardized like the annual influenza shots.

Reminds me that these two year olds were acting more mature than the pro-Trump Ken and Karen's that spit on employees just trying to enforce that private business' mask policy...

As someone that doesn't know much about kids like yourself, head down to the local nursery school and ask all those 2 and under to wear masks. Let's see how that works out for you?

If I wanted to visit uncontrolled, wild-eyed, two-year olds, I'd go to a Trump rally....

So what do you think of these pro-Trump supporters spitting on employees? Good? Bad?

Thank you, President Trump, for Operation Warpspeed and these vaccines!

Credit should be given where credit is due. It was good that this was begun during his presidency.

Nonetheless, his slow response and downplaying of the crisis through the year did not help matters.

He also could have come out and publicly stated that he and his wife had received the vaccine when they did in January to indicate to all that it was safe to take.

Reminds me that these two year olds were acting more mature than the pro-Trump Ken and Karen's that spit on employees just trying to enforce that private business' mask policy...

As someone that doesn't know much about kids like yourself, head down to the local nursery school and ask all those 2 and under to wear masks. Let's see how that works out for you?

Thank you, President Trump, for Operation Warpspeed and these vaccines!

Which 49% of your male supporters say are dangerous and refuse to take...

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-03-21/half-of-republican-men-say-they-dont-want-the-vaccine-theyre-mooching-off-the-rest-of-us

Japan has had 90%+ mask usage for months now

Except when they go to the karaoke or the izakaya or the bar or the smoking area at the office or the ginza clubs or the kabukicho kyabakura or...

The reason why japan didn't have a pandemic of catastrophic proportions last year is mainly thanks to masks, social distancing, and people's wariness of diseases. This has all progressively gone away thanks to a lack of leadership from the government.

Vaccines are of course better than masks, but saying that masks don't work is silly and dangerously false.

Reminds me of the few times 2 year old kids in the U.S. were kicked off of airplanes for refusing to wear masks. Of course the police had to escort these high security risks off of the airplane each time.

Reminds me that these two year olds were acting more mature than the pro-Trump Ken and Karen's that spit on employees just trying to enforce that private business' mask policy...

'Wearing a mask interferes with my freedom" will go down as one of the more successful scams by the far-right...manipulate, to rile-up and grift their supporters out of their money...

Wearing a mask when all are unvaccinated was better than not wearing a mask, even if the mask provided onl a slightly better protection against spread.

Wearing a seatbelt is better than not wearing one and is not that much of an inconvenience.

Better don't say that too soon, too fast and get too-euphoric.

The situation remains precarious, if not non-predictable..

A good example of things that work (vaccines) against things that doesn't work (masks).

Japan has had 90%+ mask usage for months now, and outbreaks and rising cases occur all the time, meanwhile countries with 40%+ vaccination rates are having strong dropping of the infection rate, cases are consistently down.

Sadly, many people right now have still more fate in masks than in vaccines, which is why the CDC originally recommended continued mask usage and double mask usage for vaccinated individuals, so this is a breath of fresh air, seeing the CDC following the science for once, and hope that people who have an almost religious faith in masks stop this for good.

Sad. I was so happy being forced to wear my masks. Have a whole set of them with different "quirky" and "witty" designs and slogans on them. Let's hope Japan doesn't go the same way in relaxing the public perception of the necessity of wearing masks.

I guess the anti maskers will have to find something else to feel offended by.

As those offended by anti maskers will switch their full attention to anti vaxxers and the latest Trump tweet.

kids under 2 years age don't wear a mask

Reminds me of the few times 2 year old kids in the U.S. were kicked off of airplanes for refusing to wear masks. Of course the police had to escort these high security risks off of the airplane each time.

It's not over yet. New variant virus would attack us again and again. Virus are always changing.

i dont wear face mask all the time...am I great?

No, you're you're the exact opposite of "great".

@ raw beer

You'd actually have to show some sort of empathy to feel sorry for anyone. I do believe governments are elected to make decisions on our behalf. We may not always agree but we could play it your way and have at a bit of anarchy.

I feel sorry for anyone who needs a government to tell them when they can go without a mask.

Above is from worldometer data

Japan is a good example of what could have happened to the US if it weren't for those getting vaccinated. COVID cases are exploding whereas the US is opening up again.

The US at around 2.7 times of Japan's population still outpaces Japan in Covid-19 mortality at more than 7 times at least for today's stat, 762 to Japan's 101

I hope this would be a significant motivation for many to get the jab asap.

Japan is a good example of what could have happened to the US if it weren't for those getting vaccinated. COVID cases are exploding whereas the US is opening up again.

From here, it seems Japan did ok until the last 4-5 months. Perhaps that is luck or perhaps it was J-govt skill? 550K dead in the US isn't good no matter how I look at it.

Lots of room for improvement from everyone and every govt.

The guidance still calls for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, but it will help clear the way for reopening workplaces, schools, and other venues — even removing the need for social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated.

CDC documents 2012/05/13: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html shows that vaccinated people don't need to wear a mask anywhere in their graphic from a few seconds ago.

The PDF file on the website, does show wearing masks for vaccinated people doing indoor things.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/pdfs/choosingSaferActivities.pdf

Of course, someone who is normally trustworthy emailed an attachment that showed no masks were needed. Perhaps he grabbed the version planned for a month from now from internal CDC documents?

Japan is a good example of what could have happened to the US if it weren't for those getting vaccinated. COVID cases are exploding whereas the US is opening up again.

The whole politicization of a safety and medical issue like masks just goes to show how easy the far-right can be manipulated...

Far-right politicians, media personalities, and other scam artists take an issue - masks, seat belts, life vests, tornado sirens...and tell their flock that their freedom is being infringed on....and they fall for it....and keep watching, buying books, or sending contributions...

Many of these folks wear a hard hat and steel-toed shoes at work - do those restrict their freedom? Ever see a picture of a Proud Boy or Minuteman without a heavy tactical vest?

It's just one of many examples of the cult of the far-right...and how easy they can be manipulated and controlled...

Biden is announcing something that the majority of us already knew and have been doing. A bit late, Joe...

AttilathehungryToday  09:20 am JST

I think it is a bit inaccurate to describe people who don*t want the Covid shot as "anti-vaxxers". That term should be reserved for those who don't want ANY vaccines- measles, rubella, polio, etc. Most people I know who are not enamored with the Covid shot are perfectly fine with the usual regimen of childhood vaccinations.

the word for that is 'CoVidiots'. And those people who don't get their children vaccinated for anything generally aren't allowed to get them in school. They are negligent child abusers because they're too stupid, they don't believe in medicine. They're in the wrong century.

I think it is a bit inaccurate to describe people who don*t want the Covid shot as "anti-vaxxers". That term should be reserved for those who don't want ANY vaccines- measles, rubella, polio, etc. Most people I know who are not enamored with the Covid shot are perfectly fine with the usual regimen of childhood vaccinations. They are just a bit worried about the current one- how quickly it was approved, about side effects, about whether it is even needed if you have already had Covid, etc.

Anyway, good for the US to finally realize that vaccination has its benefits.

I feel sorry for the people who spend their lives afraid because someone asked people to wear masks.

The anger must eat them up inside.

What a sad life.

It's win-win either way.

Now the GQP are going to complain that Biden is encouraging people to not wear masks.

Can't you people see what is going on ! Wake up !

Sounds to me you're the one who's confused.

I guess the anti maskers will have to find something else to feel offended by.

Wear a mask, social distance, wear 2 masks, wear masks inside, wear masks outside, kids under 2 years age don't wear a mask, Dr Fauci states masks don't really work, all children should wear a mask, vaccinate and you don't need a mask, you still need a mask and social distance after the vax. Now, you don't need a mask.

Can't you people see what is going on ! Wake up !

Black, do you wear masks and practice the safety measures?

Japan could have reached this point months ago, should measures be taken into place, mass testings done, and vaccination approved at the same time as in developed countries.

Sad but true...

And Fauci immediately contradicts the science. Don’t need a mask if vaccinated! Great! But.....

"People have to make their own personal choice," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during the White House Covid-19 briefing.

Only 30% of the state population where I am is vaccinated and the total US is only 35%.

The WP is reporting 55.2% of eligible population (12 and older) and 46.6 of the population has received have received at least one dose, or 154.6 million people.

35.8% are fully vaccinated.

Shows that if you can’t handle the pandemic, then at least handle the vaccination properly. Japan can’t even do both.

A bad day for antivaxxers that are running out of excuses, vaccine volunteers didn't die in mass as they predicted, vaccines were much more effective than the 30% they said they were, vaccines work preventing all kinds of problems and even transmission and now they can replace a large part of the social distancing measures. Unsurprisingly people will still use invalid and fantasy based reasons to reject the vaccines, but fortunately most of the population is rational.

Doesn't do us any good in Japan. I am fully vaccinated and have been since Feb. I can just imagine the scathing looks I would get if I went outside without a mask. My mother-in-law just got notified she could apply for a shot in June, she is 87.

And what about Japan? Politicians blaming others for own incompetence in vaccination roll out as doses go to waste.

That’s how you do it. Take note japan

Remember that time when people thought masks were anything but public theatre?

I do!

Enter the vaccine passport. Want to travel, attend a large public gathering or a public school? Gladly! Just show us your proof of vaccination. Otherwise, .....

Both my wife and I are vaccinated now, so I'm happy about it. Only 30% of the state population where I am is vaccinated and the total US is only 35%.

The problem is so many won't get vaccinated. There are still about 30,000 new cases per day and an average of 680 deaths per day in the US.

It is not over, but it is about 95% over for those of us vaccinated.

Great news!

But one thing. How does one know that all the unmasked have actually been vaccinated and are not merely public health free-riders, those too selfish, stupid or lazy to get vaccinated and just can’t be bothered to mask up?

Great, but how are we to know who's vaccinated and who isn't? Or is the argument that the people who choose not to get vaccinated are only going to hurt each other?

Anti-vaxxers will now feel free to go anywhere without a mask, and simply proclaim that they are vaccinated.

Good News!