As The Washington Post reports:
Federal health officials said Tuesday that fully vaccinated people can go without masks outdoors when walking, jogging or biking, or dining with friends at outdoor restaurants — a milestone development for tens of millions of pandemic-weary Americans after more than a year of masking up and locking down.
President Biden touted the relaxation of restrictions as another reason for people to get vaccinated, urging them to move forward not just to protect themselves and those around them, but so they can live more normally, by “getting together with friends, going to the park for a picnic without needing a mask.”
Biden had set July 4 as a target for when people could get together for backyard picnics with a sense of normalcy, and both the new mask guidance and his remarks were geared to encouraging people to continue getting the shots.
Yes, we realize that there are plenty of people who will say that they can go outside or anywhere else they damn well please because the gubmint can’t tell them what to do…and to those people we say, “We are very impressed.”
For everyone else, get your vaccinations so that you can go outside and play with your friends.
Yes, if you’re vaxxed, you can play outside without a mask in uncrowded situations, or with other vaccinated people. Kids under 3 don’t have to wear masks anywhere, but people under 16 aren’t vaccinated yet, and should still mask per guidelines for unvaccinated people in CDC’s new graphic:
But please do NOT follow Fox Ferret Tucker Carlson’s instructions to report parents of masked children to child protective services. He is, of course, out of his tiny mind.
If you’d like to complain about Carlson’s endangering the public, wasting the time offirst responders and general bad advice, you can contact Fox via social media. Twitter has a number 1-888-369-4762 to contact Fox, but it’s “not available in your area”. The email contact form works.
…and the EU has announced that Americans who are fully vaccinated will be able to travel to Europe this summer. I'm sure we'll see some concert announcements before long that will have a vaccination requirement.
I've bought tickets for several shows beginning in late August. No vaccination requirement noted, yet, but glad I have my filled-in card.