On May 13, Joe Biden smiles radiantly as he speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House. And for good reason: for the first time since his arrival in the Oval office, he appears in front of the press without the mask worn conscientiously in public for a year, almost to the day. “Just a few hours ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] announced that they no longer recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks. This recommendation is valid whether you are inside or outside ”, explains the President of the United States who evokes ” A great day “ and “An important step”.
Joe Biden may well repeat that the recommendation, formulated on the basis of purely scientific criteria, only applies to fully vaccinated people, the journalists present immediately ask him if he has planned measures to force others to continue to respect the port. the mask where it remains obligatory, in particular in federal buildings. The President replied in the negative. “We’re not going to arrest people, the point is, I still believe the vast majority of Americans care about protecting their neighbors and their families,” he assures.
The announcement of the CDC, previously criticized for their reluctance on the mask, however arouses the disorder, including within the scientific community. The American Society of Infectious Diseases, while praising “An important step”, assures that the Centers “Must not send the message that the pandemic is over”.
System based on good faith
The “Honor system” which is based on the good faith of the population is in question. On May 18, the director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, adds a psychological element. “We already know, from human nature, that when you say, ‘You don’t have to wear a mask if you’re vaccinated,’ people who aren’t will be hesitant to walk around with it, because that will mean: “I am not vaccinated” ”, he indicates.
The recommendations of the CDC are not binding, the rules relating to the wearing of the mask falling to the governors of the States. And the latter have reacted in dispersed order. Some states like Minnesota, led by a Democratic governor, Tim Walz, decided to immediately implement these recommendations, while Pennsylvania, whose governor is of the same political color, chose to wait for a vaccination rate of 70 %.
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