If the vaccine is the nearly infallible tool to protect from complications tied to COVID-19, and if one really wants to call for a government mandate, then why not require the vaccine rather than the mask?
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.
While most nations of the world are challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, not a single country counts as many infections and deaths as the United States of America.
The U.S. reopening during the pandemic not only gambles with the lives of its citizens, but also forces the rest of the world to face the risk together.