New CDC Guidelines May Be Ineffective, Limiting Chance Of Herd Immunity

By Grace Cleary

May 31, 2021

The CDC has given the go-ahead on lifting the mask mandate for fully vaccinated people in, what they say is an effort to, “resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic”. This includes activities “without wearing a mask or physically distancing,” except where it can still be required by federal, state, or local government, private businesses and workplace guidelines.

However, with a slowing rate of vaccinations, people fear this move may turn out to be detrimental, as there is little to no enforcement to make sure a person is actually vaccinated.

With these new guidelines, many people wonder how the vaccination rule could be enforced. In fact, it is not against HIPPA laws to ask to see vaccination records.

According to WKYT News “Businesses that are not in the healthcare industry are not bound by HIPAA.” This means private businesses can ask to see vaccination records if they wish to uphold CDC guidelines.

Businesses cannot, however, “discriminate” against you if you are not vaccinated. ABC News San Diego stated, “In general, experts say businesses can ask about your vaccine status and ask for documentation. But venues and shops cannot flatly turn people away either who refuse to show a vaccine card.”

The way to determine who is vaccinated seems to be by fully trusting people to tell the truth. Many people may choose not to wear a mask despite not being vaccinated, leaving the population of children vulnerable, as they cannot receive their vaccines yet.

While lifting the mask mandate for vaccinated people appears to be a step in the right direction, the whole goal of the continuous use of masks was to reach herd immunity. According to the New York Times, “Daily vaccination rates are slipping...widespread consensus among scientists and public health experts is that the herd immunity threshold is not attainable.” Dr. Fauci estimates that “70-85% of the population would need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity,” and it is currently estimated that 39.3% of Americans are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC’s data.

Herd Immunity is important because it could protect against the new mutations of Covid-19, including 5 other various strains of the virus found in the U.S. Some notable ones are B.1.1.7 which according to the CDC website was initially detected in the United Kingdom, and B.1.351, first detected in South Africa. These mutant strains are a threat with the CDC saying, “These variants seem to spread more easily and quickly than other variants, which may lead to more cases of COVID-19.”

Top health officials believe that immunization from Covid-19 on a large scale would hopefully eradicate the disease as well as the various other strains. With less than half of the population currently vaccinated, many feel it may be a risk to lift the mask mandate too soon.