Change in Mask Guidance

Today, the CDC acted on something that we have known for quite some time. It is much harder to catch CoViD-19 when you are outdoors. This virus mostly spreads in indoor environments. We initially saw this last fall when after many Black Lives Matters protests where people were marching and chanting together for long periods of time outdoors and we didn’t see a big spike in new cases. Its hard for viral particles to build up in outdoor environments when the wind is blowing. Now this is not the same as being in a stadium that happens to have an open roof. That data is still pending but being in a open environment greatly reduces the spread. On top of that, being vaccinated greatly reduces your chance of getting infected. “Most of transmission is happening indoors than outdoors,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director said at a press briefing today, explaining that less than 10% of documented COVID-19 transmission has occurred outside.

 

So what did the CDC say today? They said EVERYONE, vaccinated or unvaccinated can go walking, running, hiking or biking outdoors, alone or with members of the same household. You can also attend a small outdoor gathering with fully vaccinated family and friends. That is for everyone so we don’t have to wear masks when running outdoors or riding your bike. The problem is the multitude of mask mandates in different states. The New York Times reported today that 25 states have some form of mask mandate that will take some time to unravel.

 

If you are vaccinated, there are some additional things you can safely do:

 

There are some things that you still shouldn’t do unmasked because they put you or others are risk whether you are vaccinated or not. This doesn’t mean you can’t do these things, it means you should wear a mask:

 

 

There is a nice chart showing the different activities here: CDC Chart

 

So go out for a run this weekend. Bring your mask in case you are in a place where there is still a mask mandate but know that you are safe running without it outside. Life will get more normal for those of us who are vaccinated so get yourself vaccinated. There is no excuse not to do it. Vaccination is our way to a normal life again.

 

Finally, I had a great flight to LA over the weekend. I’ll write about it in the next day or two.

 

Get your self vaccinated quickly so we can get through this together.

 

Dr. Stu Weiss