Millions of American citizens have been relying on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to guide them through the pandemic with advice on wearing masks to give them the best chance of avoiding the coronavirus. The State of California and Governor Gavin Newsom appear to also be aligning with the CDC for its citizens.Â
While vaccinated individuals are permitted to no longer wear masks in most situations, unvaccinated individuals will still be required to do so. California is strictly enforcing these rules within businesses and some businesses may even be allowed to ask for proof of COVID-19 vaccination.Â
It’s currently unclear what this means for individuals who are not willing to take the coronavirus vaccine. Will the CDC ever recommend that unvaccinated individuals remove their masks? There’s no indicator at this exact point in time but there’s a good chance that the CDC will continue to recommend major restrictions to anyone who is not vaccinated and California is likely to follow.
Most vaccinated individuals have been hoping that future CDC guidance suggests that they can proceed with their normal lives without having to ever worry about social distancing again. The good news is that the United States appears to be on that trajectory, although an annoying ‘delta variant’ of the coronavirus could still plague the country’s recovery in the future.
The tougher part of the equation will relate to how the Biden administration treats unvaccinated individuals leading into 2022 and beyond. Will they be restricted in some way if they refuse to get the vaccine? It remains to be seen whether or not forcing social distancing amongst unvaccinated individuals is unconstitutional when the major effects of ths pandemic eventually come to a permanent end.
