New Mask Policies in the U.S.
By: Sarah Son
On May 13th, the C.D.C. announced that it is safe for fully vaccinated people to take their masks off in most indoor settings. Now, vaccinated shoppers and workers are allowed to be mask-free at Walmart, Target, and Home Depot, except where local laws require masks in stores. At Starbucks, CVS, Walgreens, and Macy’s, customers do not need masks as long as they are vaccinated, but employees still need to work with masks. However other large retail chains, such as Gap and Ulta, have not eased up on their policies, so it is still mandatory for customers and workers to wear masks while in the buildings.
Despite this seemingly positive shift of mask policies, it has brought much confusion as well. For those who have not been fully vaccinated, the new policy is not much to worry about, but for those who are, it’s unclear for them to know which store/business to walk into and determine whether to wear a mask or not. Especially for retail workers, they need to make sure that unvaccinated individuals are wearing masks, and for the past year, they have struggled to get anti-mask customers to cooperate. However, there’s no way for workers to confirm whether one has actually been fully vaccinated. Vaccine cards and vaccine passports have been created in attempts to differentiate those who have been vaccinated and those who haven’t, but scammers have manufactured fakes, and are selling them. Therefore, there’s no clear way to approach customers and know whether they’ve been vaccinated or not.
Some unions for retail and grocery workers have criticized C.D.C. guidance on loosening mask policies. They say the new loosened restrictions are complicating things, making it more difficult for workers to enforce local mask mandates, since they have no way of verifying which customers are actually vaccinated in the first place.
Visit this website to learn about your state’s mask mandates for vaccinated individuals: https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2020/states-mask-mandates-coronavirus.html