Hundreds of epidemiologists expected to wear masks in public for at least a year

When federal health officials said Thursday they had fully vaccinated Americans You no longer need to wear a mask in most places, It was a surprise to many people in public health. It was also in stark contrast to the views of the majority of epidemiologists surveyed by the New York Times in the last two weeks.

In an informal survey, 80% said Americans believe they need to wear masks in public indoor areas for at least another year. Only 5% say they will not need to wear a mask indoors by this summer.

In large outdoor crowds such as concerts and protests, 88% of epidemiologists said that even fully vaccinated people need to wear masks.

“Unless vaccination rates rise to 80% or 90% in the coming months, masks should be worn in large public indoor environments,” said Vivian Towe, Program Officer at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Stated.

Responses were from 723 epidemiologists submitted between April 28 and May 10 prior to new guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study asked epidemiologists about being outdoors in groups of various sizes and being indoors with people of unknown vaccination status. The situation was consistent with new guidance on managing behavior in public places, regardless of the size at which it is impossible to know the status of another person’s vaccine.

Federal health officials have already stated that vaccinated people can stay indoors with other vaccinated people, and epidemiologists have largely agreed. However, according to the CDC’s new guidance, masks are not needed for fully vaccinated people, indoors or outdoors, except for the size of the rally and certain circumstances such as clinics and public transport. became.

Epidemiologists are generally very cautious about Covid-19 due to the nature of their training to understand the risks and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Almost three-quarters say they are risk-averse, and unlike many Americans, they may have been able to work from home for the past year. However, they also have the same training as many CDC scientists who devised new policies, and about one-third of survey respondents work primarily in government at the state level.

They admitted that many Americans don’t want to keep wearing masks, and many have already stopped wearing them.

“You need to wear a mask, which is a very different question than how long it will last,” said Sophia K., an epidemiologist at the Great Lakes Intertribal Council. “By the end of 2021, most people expect to refuse to wear masks, even in public, whether or not there is still a pandemic.”

Many epidemiologists have responded to the CDC by saying that as long as people are completely vaccinated, they can get together without precautions. However, the CDC went a step further than epidemiologists by allowing vaccinated people to stop masking in groups of unknown number of unvaccinated people.

“You either trust the vaccine or you don’t,” said Dr. Christine Harrington, Ph.D. in Epidemiology. Emory student. “And if we trust the vaccine, it means that an unlimited number of vaccinated individuals should be allowed to come together.”

Others have acknowledged that policy decisions are based on many goals, such as revitalizing the economy and encouraging people to be vaccinated.

However, the number of vaccinated Americans has not yet reached the level scientists consider necessary to significantly slow the spread of the virus, so most people say that masking is currently necessary. Said. Until then, they said it was very likely that vaccines that were not 100% effective would fail.

“In crowded situations, both indoors and outdoors, masks are needed until Covid’s community level is much lower,” said Luther King Fasehun, Ph.D. in Epidemiology. A student at Temple University.

Sally Pichot, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Berkeley, said the decision to stop wearing masks indoors “depends on more people rolling up their sleeves to shoot.” ..

Respondents also said that masks are important to protect high-risk people and those who are not vaccinated, such as children and people in basic health, as long as the virus is still widespread. Said.

“Protects the entire community and others in the room from wearing masks until the community is less infected,” said Covid-19-hit children, immunosuppressed people, blacks and Latins. Includes affiliated communities. Associate Professor of Public Health at Boston University.

A quarter of the epidemiologists in the survey believe that people need to wear masks indefinitely in certain settings, such as in planes, concert halls, or during the winter virus season. He said he would continue to wear it.

Alison Stewart, Chief Epidemiologist in Williamson County and Urban Health District, Texas, said: “I’m glad I didn’t get sick for more than a year.”

Alana Cilwick, an epidemiologist at the Colorado Public Health Service, said: .. “

Only one-fifth of epidemiologists said it was safe for fully vaccinated people to socialize indoors without masks in groups of unlimited size. The majority said indoor meetings should be limited to 5 households or less.

Almost all epidemiologists say that even outdoors, where the coronavirus is much less likely to spread, you need to keep wearing masks in the crowd when you are near others who do not know your vaccination status I did.

“Masks are the second most useful preventive strategy for vaccination,” says Professor Raifman.