As we end the year of the COVID-19 pandemic and more and more Americans are getting vaccinated, many people are beginning to wonder how long it will take us to wear face masks in public.
Some states, including Montana, Iowa, North Dakota, Mississippi and Texas, recently announced the end of their mask mandates.
But not wearing a mask right now is “a very bad idea, especially with the variants that are spreading,” says Richard Watkins, an infectious disease doctor and professor of internal medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people 2 years of age or older wear a mask in public around people outside their home, which raises the question: When will we realistically stop wearing masks? facials? And will they become the new normal during the cold and flu season? This is what experts in infectious diseases know so far.
When can we stop wearing masks safely?
It’s “hard to say,” as the end of normal mask use is tied to the end of the pandemic, says Dr. Watkins. But, he adds, “if and when we get the herd’s immunity, it’s likely to stop wearing a routine mask.” (Herd immunity means that the majority of a population is immune to an infectious disease, providing indirect protection to those who are not immune to the disease, such as newborns or vulnerable people who cannot be vaccinated due to risks for health).
Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently told CNN that “it’s possible” that public health officials will continue to recommend masks in 2022. to say that life should be more normal by then, adding, “We will have a significant degree of normalcy beyond the terrible burden we have all experienced over the last year.”
Doctors agree that masks will probably be recommended for a while. “Infection prevention remains the best way to reduce illness and death, and the best prevention comes from the use of masks and social distancing,” says Lewis Nelson, MD, president of emergency medicine at at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. “Until we have better information about the development of strains of viral variants and the effectiveness of current or future vaccines, we need to wear masks in many of our interpersonal interactions.”
There is likely to be some sort of masking orientation until there is a “sufficient decrease in community spread of the virus,” says Amesh A. Adalja, an infectious disease expert and senior researcher at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “It may be the end of 2021, as more people will have access to the vaccine.”
Even if you have been fully vaccinated, the CDC still recommends that you continue to wear a mask in public, as it is unclear whether vaccinated individuals can transmit COVID-19 to others who have not yet received the vaccine.
As for the actual mandates of masks, “this will be done statewide,” says Dr. Adalja. But as the spread of COVID-19 decreases in certain areas, mask mandates may end up disappearing, he notes.
Will face masks be recommended after the COVID-19 pandemic?
Luis AlvarezGetty Images
It is possible, especially because masks have been shown to prevent infection. The flu season was virtually non-existent this year; CDC data found that there have been only 1,500 clinically diagnosed cases of influenza since September. This is a huge decline compared to last year’s flu season, which was estimated at 56 million cases.
Because of this, experts say masks can have staying power, at least during the cold and flu season. “Masks were common in Asia before COVID, so I hope there are more people in the United States who feel comfortable wearing them after the pandemic,” says Dr. Watkins.
Dr. Adalja points out that it is always recommended that people wear a mask if they have a respiratory virus, even before the pandemic. “That won’t change, but it’s likely that more people will join,” he says.
And it is possible that some people will continue to wear masks in public, such as crowded areas and on public transportation, simply because they have seen that masks can help prevent disease, Dr. Adalja notes.
For now, doctors say, keep masking yourself until public health officials give the green light to Americans to go out in public without a head.
This article is accurate from the time of the press. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves rapidly and the understanding of the new scientific community about the coronavirus develops, it is possible that some of the information has changed since its last update. While we want to keep all of our stories up to date, visit the online resources provided by CDC, WHO, and yours local public health department to be informed of the latest news. Always talk to your doctor for professional medical advice.
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