A woman runs with a mask in front of the United Nations building in New York, the United States, this Tuesday.KENA BETANCUR / AFP
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, for its acronym in English) announced Tuesday that Americans fully vaccinated against the coronavirus no longer need to wear masks outdoors except in crowds. At the beginning of March they had already lifted the restriction, but now the permits cover more activities. For example, health policy allows people to attend a small outdoor meeting in which immunized people and others who have not yet received treatment against covid-19 participate. Those who have not been vaccinated can also go bare-faced when walking, running or cycling.
The nearly 100 million “fully vaccinated” Americans — two weeks after the last puncture — can shed the mask when they play outdoor sports alone or with members of their household. They can also go out to dinner at an open-air restaurant with friends from other homes or attend a “little gathering” outside with immunized and unvaccinated people. Those who are not yet immunized should wear the mask in outdoor gatherings that include other unvaccinated people and also on restaurant terraces. "Relaxing certain measures for vaccinated people can help improve acceptance of the coronavirus vaccine," the guide notes.
The CDC warns that mass outdoor activities continue to pose a risk and urge citizens, regardless of whether or not they received the vaccine, to wear the mask at sporting events and live shows.
They point out that the riskiest activities continue to be encounters in closed spaces where people sing, shout, cannot keep their physical distance and it is difficult to breathe.
The new recommendations come when more than half of the adult population in the United States has received the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson or at least one of the two doses of the drug from Pfizer or Moderna.
States across the country, where more than half a million citizens have died from the virus, are attending walk-ins to make it easier for people to get vaccinated.
For now, the evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to catch or transmit the coronavirus to others.
The data has also prompted more and more scientists to question the use of face masks outdoors, as the breezes disperse virus particles.
The European agency dedicated to the control of infectious diseases, for example, only recommends wearing the mask indoors in public places and suggests that "its use can be considered in outdoor environments with many people."
What is still unknown is how long the protection of vaccines lasts and how much they protect against emerging virus variants.
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