I will be wearing a mask at work and stores until under 12 is approved. After all of our population is offered vaccinations than I feel we no longer have to wear one to protect unvaccinated people but right now we do need to protect our youngest citizens from infection. I have no issue though with others not believing as I,

Businesses requiring masks make me feel like they care about me and their employees and respect good citizenship, best practices with regards to health, and are community-minded. I go out of my way to patronize them. I've also found them mostly to be superior when it comes to customer service.

I will point out I do trust the CDC. And it firmly believes those with vaccines are safe not wearing masks and those who opted out still need to wear masks. Honor system is being utilized it seems. But if a adult chose to not get vaccinated and does not wear a mask I do not feel responsible if they get sick. Kinda like Darwinism I think, Now the under twelve population is a different story. They need us to still protect them until it is approved.

I will do what is required.

I'm disappointed in TJ's and Costco. Felt safest shopping at both stores during the past year. Will continue wearing a mask indoors for the near future. Too many selfish people in this country.

If the children who are not vaccinated are wearing masks like they are supposed to then I don’t see a problem. I have a feeling a good bit of parents won’t vaccinate their children anyhow as there seems to be a growing number of parents who refuse all childhood vaccines for their children. I’m going maskless if stores state it’s okay to do so.

Are those of you worried about the mask changes vaccinated? If so what am I missing? The vaccine studies deemed us safe to conjugate in groups without masks inside. My doctors office where the doctors log their reports and the nurses hang between patients all had their masks off behind the glass two weeks ago. This was at Smillow( a cancer center). I feel this did not put me at risk for I am fully vaccinated. The cdc made this change I believe to give incentives to those who have been vaccine resistant to finally get their jabs.

I agree that I'm absolutely fine with and respect a business setting mask requirements. Employees deserve our consideration!

BTW, who else saw the news about the Yankees? Vaccinated, yet contracted COVID and a number were asymptomatic. Good for them that they're not ill, but that's a serious consideration for those of us who have to be around vulnerable people.

And I just don't trust anti-vaxxers to follow the honor system since they mostly haven't so far.

Dh went to Trader Joe's on Saturday. Even though masks are not required in that store, he reported that every customer was wearing one. Wegmans still requires masks as does our local Giant grocery store.

I feel it’s hard to explain to a 3,4 or 5 year old why they have to wear a mask when the adults aren’t. If kids are present it won’t be a sacrifice for me to continue wearing a mask

Carol, all along the experts have stated that the studies on the vaccines prove they only protect those who get it from severe disease and death not from becoming infected with it nor spreading infection. 7 of 8 Yankees were asymptotic so the vaccine worked just as it was meant to. These vaccines are really more like pretreatments not prevention from infections as far as the studies show at this time. They are different from the MMRs and more like the flu shot.

non vaccinated people will not likely hurt us just themselves if they break the honor system. That is why I see it as Darwinism.

Wearing a mask while shopping is small potatoes to me. I try to be in and out as quick as possible anyway, so the mask is really not that much of an imposition. I work in a small, outdoor nursery. I would say about half our customers were maskless this weekend and their moods were definitely better for it. During the busy times, I still wore a mask because I was squatting directly below the customers. I am still more comfortable with the mask in stores though. Only half of my household is fully vaccinated and although eligibility has opened up, getting a shot can still be difficult. My oldest son works for UPS. I mentioned that you could just walk in to Wal-Mart for a poke. That turned out to be a half truth. They had someone not show up for an appointment so he was able to get his, Otherwise he would have needed to wait until June 12th. His job does not allow him to just take time off to get this done. My middle schooler will get his first shot on Tuesday. We are getting closer to getting everybody taken care of, but not quite there yet, so wearing the mask is still important for us. Keeping it in perspective, we also just learned of somebody we knew (not a close acquaintance) passed from Covid this past weekend, so it is still very real.

Tina Marie - you mentioned store employees wearing masks to protect the customers and the community, but more importantly they are protecting their coworkers. While I can get in and out of the grocery store in half an hour or less, they are working in there all day. If a store requires customers to wear masks I will certainly comply to show appreciation for the employees and to help protect them.

But of course @terezosa / terriks! I thought the following covered it all as fellow employees are part of the community.

To me, it is disrespectful and inconsiderate to the business and it's employees (who are masked). The employees are not wearing masks for the fun of it, they are wearing masks to help protect the community.

I was listening to Craig Melvin on MSNBC this morning. He had the president of the National Nurses Association on to discuss their objections regarding the mask mandates and says CDC is wrong to lift them. She sited that not enough people are vacinated yet and essential workers are at greater risk. Melvin then had Doctor Jha on to comment on what the Nurses Assoc. is saying and he agreed with them. He said that in his opinion it would have been more ideal if the CDC had waited until mid June to allow for more people to get fully vaccinated. A reporter also interviewed a couple of people on their way into a Target store who had just taken the masks required signs down. One said she was vaccinated and she was not worried. The other said she isn’t vaccinated but she isn’t wearing a mask because she doesn’t want to and no one has the right to force her to wear one.

Yes - I'd heard about the NNA objections yesterday, and I am inclined to agree. I think this was done in an attempt to convince more people to get the vaccine, but judging by the way so many of the anti folks are behaving, I think it's a misfire.

Back to the original question of how I feel about businesses requiring masked. I feel the same as them asking me to wear pants, shoes, and shirts.

How do I feel about wearing a mask? The same way I feel about pants. Some days I don’t feel like wearing them, but put them on anyway!

Parts of the uk is no longer requiring masks in schools

The other way to look at thqt screen shot is that many schools still recommend or require masks.

Many businesses and states do here too. The national British government has dropped the mask mandate for secondary students( none of whom can get vaccinated there) similar to the cdc letting each state and businesses decide for themselves. There is lots science supporting these decisions. If we followed the science when it suggested wearing masks maybe we should trust that same science that now supports letting vaccinated people choose for themselves.

I choose to still wear my mask inside public spaces because I work with young children and have a child not yet fully vaccinated and the verdict is still not 100 percent decided on if asymptotic covid positive vaccinated people can spread covid. It is looking like it does help prevent spread though so that is promising.

However, just because I choose this way does not mean someone else who is also vaccinated is in the wrong if they choose not to wear a mask. Since the vaccines are working very well at preventing death it is time to let people do as they see fit and stop this mask vs no mask anger.

Didn’t read all replies but I think we should have mask burning parties.

I’m fine with whichever choice businesses make. If a mask is required where I want to shop I’ll be prepared to wear one. If it’s not required and there isn’t a crowd I won’t. I will still keep my distance from others as I have done all along.

I think children can understand the message that adults don’t have to wear a mask because they’ve had medicine that protects them from this illness. You’ll be able to have the medicine one day too but it’s not ready for kids just yet.

Same here, terrilynn! I was leaving my house, going to the grocery store yesterday, through the mudroom, and notice all the masks we have hanging on a hook by the back door, and realized...we haven't worn ANY masks inside for over a month or so here.

I forgot, I did just get back from Santa Fe last week, and had to wear one there, inside of course. So, I guess I have worn one. But, not where I live.

eta: I don't see the point of kids wearing masks, especially in school. Their masks get snotty, grimy, dropping it on the nasty floor, and germs in school and they are breathing all of that in ALL day at school. That cannot be healthy and they need fresh air. I would be livid to have an elementary child in school having to wear a mask all day. It would be time to find a private school or homeschool with other groups, or find a neighboring school for me. Which apparently, schools have lost quite a few students that way now. We have a school board meeting next week for parents to speak about the mask mandate in our schools for next year. Parents are wanting to know in time, so they can put their kids in neighboring schools or private schools for next year. Last year, it was last minute and the private schools were at full capacity by the time we found out, so we need to know soon to enroll early for this next year.

Still going to do as much curbside as possible. Just put in an order for Petsmart for World’s Best cat litter. We’ve done online/curbside groceries before the pandemic, and I will not go back in store because we both hate grocery shopping. I

Before the announcement last week, DH was saying it was going to become increasingly difficult to enforce masks at their workplace, starting to see pushback. Everyone in the office is vaccinated. He actually did his first massless closing yesterday.

I know for fall they said students in residence halls must be vaccinated but I don’t think there will be a requirement for the general student body and F/S, just encouragement. I will probably still wear a mask when teaching lab because students are still largely unvaccinated despite widespread availability. Maybe that will change, but I’m not optimistic. Oh well, I am online only for the summer, so I still don’t have to interact with anyone. Nine long years until retirement.

The elementary students I am with have had zero issues wearing masks. In the beginning the kids were told that the masks will help us stay in person and that was all they needed to hear to comply. The kids in my group all know to sanitize before and after touching their masks and only remove it for eating. I do have a few occasionally with not very secure masks that need to constantly be pulled up but I just give those kids fresh surgical masks instead. Until kids can receive a vaccine I agree with their mask wearing. Now preschool kids do have mask hygiene issues for sure!

I am also proud to know my state was the first state to have over fifty percent of its population fully vaccinated weeks ago.

My husband and I have been fully vaccinated since February. My son who just turned 16, already received his first dose and has his 2nd dose scheduled next weekend. This was something we researched and debated for a few weeks. In the end, although my son is an athlete and has concerns, as do I, it boiled down to this: I would rather he not get seriously ill from corona or one of the variants vs. any potential long term effects from the vaccine. Also selfishly, we all want to travel as a family again and we think vaccine passports are on the horizon. We will continue to wear masks indoors, its safer for everyone and really a small inconvenience.

Outside is a different story. I have socially distanced outside since the beginning of the pandemic but I won't wear a mask while running or on the beach. When I am running I give anyone near me a wide berth and I don't sit close to anyone at the beach. I quit my gym when this pandemic began and still as a vaccinated person would not feel comfortable going inside one, maskless.

Although I wouldn't classify myself a germaphobe, I've come to appreciate mask-wearing and social distancing especially in grocery and other retail stores. I enjoy my personal space and not being around the exhalant of strangers. I'm sorry to see the mandates lifting. But if I like a business's services or products, their mask requirements or lack thereof wouldn't deter me from giving them my business. I think these are decisions best left to the businesses themselves, considering their locations, employee safety, etc.

I prefer stores that require masks and avoid ones that do not require them.

As a former elementary school teacher, I can tell you that kids come to school with all kinds of grime and dirt and infect each other with all kinds of diseases so we have to work at keeping everyone healthy already as it is. We work on hygiene even without pandemics raging. Our schools are doing fabulously with masks, because safety and hygiene are already on their training radar and masks are just part of that. We teach kids to wash their hands, not wipe their noses with their hands but use a tissue, cover their mouths when they cough, not rub their eyes with their hands, don't spit, not wear other people's hats or share brushes and combs, clean off their desktops, etc. It's part of the health curriculum. I'd hate to have my kid in a classroom with no concern for cleanliness and hygiene and health. Such schools exist, but they are not the majority. You'd be surprised how many kids get sick breathing the air in the school due to molds and poor ventilation. My husband's son was very sick one year in school, come to find out he didn't have ear infections and was constantly being treated with antibiotics for them. The real problem was mold in the school. They eventually moved the classes out and tore it down it was so bad.

Edited to add that in poorer schools, kids come to school with all kinds of hygiene and health problems, there often isn't support at home for coping with these issues. Not every kid, but many, depending on circumstances.

I sent to my usual grocery store today, and as I was putting on my mask before going inside I saw their new sign, that if you are fully vaccinated you do not need to wear a mask. Well, everyone I saw except for one of two people I saw leaving as I went in, had on a mask. The plexiglass was still in place at check-out. I’ll have to see how things go. I will continue to wear a mask: I had my second dose just 3 days ago, so I will continue to wear a mask for a couple of weeks. For that, and thereafter, i guess I’ll just let people assume I haven’t been fully vaccinated yet. Our county is under 50%, so I’ll fit right in.

Ollie, maybe it‘s different where you live, but I have two children in two different private schools. They, as have all private schools here, have been wearing masks since their schools reopened last fall.

From what I have heard from my teacher friends who work in elementary schools, the kids for the most part have no problems wearing a mask all day. It’s the parents who seem to have a problem with it, not the kids. A select few parents, that is.

Our mask mandate was lifted almost a week ago here in MD. Most stores though are still requiring them. However, Sams Club no longer requires them and yesterday I went when they opened. There was a line to get in since I arrived early and every single person in line was wearing a mask, even tho they were not required. The employees were also all masked. My state was among the first to require masks and With the exception of a few areas I’ve been, 100% of people have been wearing them. I’m not surprised people are continuing to wear them even tho the mandate has ended.

4kids, yes very different where I live. Thank goodness.

Serious question - not trying to be snotty.... if you are fully vaccinated, and believe the vaccine is effective, why continue to wear a mask (besides the information already provided about children, which I understand)? What is the advantage? I've only had my first shot so far, and being in Canada who knows when I'll get my second. But I can hardly wait to stop wearing a mask.

Publix has dropped it’s suggestion to wear a mask. Today, every employee but one (older lady) was wearing one. Most of the other employees were young, college age, maybe not fully vaccinated? I’d guess 80% of the shoppers were still masked. I wore mine even though I am fully vaccinated. I was happy to see that they still have someone at the entrance wiping the carts.

As of 5/19, 47.4% of my county's total population is fully vaccinated. In the last 7 days we've had 10 COVID deaths and 472 new cases. Although the state no longer requires masks for fully vaccinated people, I'm pleased that my city renewed the indoor mask mandate.

Pretty much everywhere we go has dropped mask requirements now! Yay! It's about a 50-50 mix of masked vs. non-masked people in many places although some stores (Trader Joes) is like 98% masked and others (more local places) are 0%.

For those who don't mind wearing a mask and who want to wear one, it's great that of course they can still do it. For some of us, mask wearing is legitimately uncomfortable / difficult for various reasons. It's easy to say it's a small thing if it doesn't bother you personally. For some people, it's a bigger thing. Now, of course, that doesn't mean people were justified in being jerks about following requirements.

When the CDC said it was the best practice, I wore one when/where required and accepted the mandates without complaint. Now that the CDC says it is no longer necessary, I will no longer wear one. In both instances, I followed the recommendations but I am much happier now that I no longer have to wear one.

If you are fully vaccinated, then you aren’t the problem, right now. However, all the people who have chosen not to be vaccinated should continue to wear a mask. It is the least they can do. Unvaccinated people, potentially, could be hosts of the new variants circulating the world. Are you that confident that the vaccine you got will protect you from a variant?

I don’t think this is over. I will continue to pick and choose my contacts/locations.

I think everyone should continue to wear a mask when out and about. How do you know that the stranger in TJMaxx has not been vaccinated and has been exposed to a variant of Covid?

Those three variants and the B.1.427 and B.1.429 mutants that are circulating in the U.S. have been identified by the CDC as "variants of concern," meaning there's evidence that these strains could be more contagious, cause more severe disease, or blunt the efficacy of treatments and vaccines.

"CDC is closely monitoring these variants of concern," the agency said. "These variants have mutations in the virus genome that alter the characteristics and cause the virus to act differently in ways that are significant to public health (e.g., causes more severe disease, spreads more easily between humans, requires different treatments, changes the effectiveness of current vaccines)."

I am still wearing a mask when shopping indoors. (I went without at the nursery the other day) I have a 5 month old grandson who can’t be vaccinated and a good friend with a chronic lung issue. I’d never forgive myself if I was the rare person who got covid post vaccine but was a symptomatic and inadvertently gave it to one of them, or some total stranger who was immunocompromised. The mask doesn’t hurt me, plus I’ve had a year plus with no illness and almost nonexistent allergies.

Judy, I trust the science that proves that since I have been fully vaccinated the unmasked non vaccinated person is not a threat to me. Unvaccinated unmasked people are only threats to other stupid unmasked unvaccinated people. The fore mentioned variants have now been shown to be protected against by vaccines.

In my state most local stores and a mall I was in still had a mask rule in play and at the two stores that lifted the requirement I would say at least 95% were wearing masks. Our state has high vaccination rates and very low infection rates yet most of us seem to still prefer masks inside stores.

My therapist, fully vaccinated, now allows maskless sessions so I do sit in her office with her and I both maskless now and I suddenly realized how much better life is when smiles and expressions are seen.

I am feeling very safe! I love vaccines and science!

I haven’t been anywhere that still requires masks. They either don’t have any kind of signage or they have something that says masks recommended if you aren’t fully vax’d. I haven’t worn one since our state mandate was lifted when the CDC recommendation came out. If things take a turn for the worse with variants or such I’ll resume wearing one but in the meantime I’m greatly enjoying not wearing one.

We’re vaccinated, still wearings masks in most places, even if they don’t require it. I’m taking it day by day, situation by situation.

I‘m not sure science and time have proved anything. I’m a little more relaxed about wearing the mask among vaccinated people. But it’s really been only a few weeks and we are all barely halfway vaccinated, and all the aggressive variants haven’t been encountered yet.

I‘ve been a few more stores and casual restaurants this week, and while their signs say masks are not necessary if you’ve been vaccinated, everyone has worn a mask except when eating. So I appreciate that people are in the ”trust but verify”-type column.

I think our country varies so much. My state hit over fifty percent of its population fully vaccinated a month ago and now has less than 1 percent infection rates. While the country as a whole’s average fully vaccinated rate is only 38% and some areas are still red zones. This is why the cdc recommended following local and state guidelines in deciding when to fully open and when to drop mask mandates.

The vaccines are very very good but they aren’t 100%. So for an individual person, the risk is still there (a small risk) of being hospitalized with covid even as population deaths and hospitalizations go down. The same as I was vaccinated for measles and still contracted a very serious case as a child.

The biggest benefit of widespread vaccination is reducing the ability of the virus to spread so that any one person is unlikely to encounter the virus and if they get it, less likely to pass it on.

It looks like vax rates of 50% and above combined with protective measures (masks, physical distancing) have been enough to reduce the spread in places that have achieved it (eg the UK) even with the b117 variant. Our provincial guidance is that they’d like to see 75% of the population vaccinated before a total reopen. We’re at about 50% first dose so we have a ways to go.

The biggest tragedy would be having an asymptomatic infection as a vaccinated person, and passing it along to an unvaccinated person, especially a child who hasn’t yet had the choice or chance to be vaccinated. As they say, my mask protects you and your mask protects me.

A mask goes with me wherever I go and I make a judgement call as to indoor/outdoor, large open space like a barn, number of people in my vicinity and whether or not I feel comfortable asking them about vaccinations. I have been to more places in the last 2 weeks and always mask in a 'regular' store. Inside dining is still not on my radar but that's in part because of the non-vax demographic here.

Yes - I may not be threatened with death or hospitalization, but I don't want to get sick at all! I care for my 90 year old mom - also fully vaccinated, but she's not the only person I'm concerned about spreading it to. Way too many scoffers around here.

I appreciated the signage I saw outside a shop yesterday - I wish I could recall it word for word, because they were more clever than my rendition here made it:

Something on the order of:

We ask you to please continue to wear your mask in our shop, and please continue to practice social distancing, for the safety of staff and other customers. We are not in the business, nor do we wish to be, of asking you for your vaccination status. So out of consideration of everyone, all should please continue with masking and social distancing within these premises!

My friend and I were happy to comply.

Later during our visit, the clerk on duty mentioned a relative (in his late 40s) who contracted COVID back in March 2020, who is STILL having health fallout from that disease. He'd remained in severe status until this past December. So many people react differently!

Outdoors in my town, I have seldom worn a mask. There's nobody here! The exception was the date last summer when a bunch of us gathered around watching a old decrepit building being demolished. Y' know, small-town fun. It's simply a population (lack of density) thing here. Okay, and everyone wore one at our annual town meeting which was held outdoors last June.

But indoors, in businesses, vax or not, - not intending to stop wearing masks for awhile.

DH and I were out and about yesterday, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods yesterday afternoon in OKC. I would say about half and half of customers were wearing masks in there, all of employees had them on. But, that is a given in those two stores. Later on, I went to Target in my town and was SO HAPPY to see the employees were probably 90 percent maskless. Seeing the employees without a mask makes it seem so much more normal! I can't believe it made such a difference, but it did. Hardly any customers without a mask. I have always felt bad for employees forced to wear a mask all day, since the vaccine came out. Although it pains me, to know young adults getting the vaccine until A LOT more research is done. I'm sure they feel free (those who were vaccinated or who actually got covid in the past) and I'd bet most of us customers are happy for them!