The Vaccinated Cohort of the US

The fact that vaccinated people now no longer need to wear a mask or maintain social distancing is a surprising and suspicious recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States.

The decision was taken after scientific studies showed that the vaccines were effective against new variants, and that the few people who had been infected with COVID-19 despite being vaccinated were fewer in number and generally less infectious.

The new guidance from the CDC maintains, however, the recommendation that vaccinated people still continue to use masks to travel on public transport (planes, buses, trains), as well as in airports and train stations. Nonetheless, although the vaccine’s coverage is above 50%, states like Florida and Texas have eliminated all forms of restrictions, hurrying their return to normality.

In order to promote people to go and get vaccinated, some states have offered incentives, most notably in Ohio, which organized a lottery of five prizes for every million people among the residents who went to their vaccination appointments. It is exciting to know that even in airports in Miami and New York, residents and visitors are being offered vaccines for free.

The announcements from the CDC are untimely and require clarification, as there are many who are already skeptical and are now resisting abandoning the masks altogether. As a result, there has been a rise in arguments and altercations in both public and private places between those who demand that others wear a mask and those who refuse.

On this side of the pond, we are all yearning to reach this same point, when we can feel a sense of normality again. But we cannot reproduce what is happening over at our rich neighbor’s house, as our vaccination coverage is very low and our weekly epidemiological reports show a worrying trend of an increase in cases and hospitalizations, indicating a new epidemic wave, as the Southern Cone countries have already experienced.

The government’s decision to buy more Pfizer vaccines is valid because they are effective and safe. We also have to strengthen our efforts to increase vaccination coverage. Independently of what happens in the U.S., we have to maintain the use of masks and strengthen the public health and safety measures that we know work.