The CDC's Mask Guidance Created Confusion. Could It Also Boost Vaccinations?

Consider This from NPR

NPR

Daily News, News, News Commentary, Society & Culture

4.2 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2021

⏱️ ? minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A week ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance that vaccinated people can safely return to most activities without wearing a mask. But the announcement caught many local officials and business leaders off guard. One of them was Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.

NPR's Andrea Hsu reports on the confusion among businesses, which now have to decide what to do on their own.

NPR's Yuki Noguchi interviewed behavioral scientists about whether the new guidance may encourage more people to get vaccinated.

Additional reporting in this episode came from NPR's Allison Aubrey and Pien Huang.

Read more about what the new CDC guidance means for unvaccinated kids — and their parents.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Americans are misinterpreting the CDC's guidance on masks.
0:05.8	That's what Dr. Anthony Fauci said this week.
0:08.3	People are misinterpreting thinking that this is a removal of a mask mandate for everyone.
0:14.5	It's not.
0:15.6	It's not their fault.
0:16.6	Fauci told Axios.
0:18.4	People are not exactly sitting down with their morning coffee to read the fine print on CDC.
0:24.4	People either read them quickly or listen and hear half of it. They are feeling that we're saying you don't need a mask anymore.
0:31.4	That's not what the CDC said.
0:34.4	What the CDC said is that vaccinated people can feel safe without a mask in most places.
0:40.0	But the practical effect of that announcement one week ago was a sense of liberation.
0:46.0	Oh, Matt, every bar in New York City is going to feel like St. Patrick's Day fell on Sync with Domino.
0:52.6	You know what I'm saying?
0:53.6	The change was covered as a big deal.
0:55.6	Tonight, the major turning point of the COVID pandemic in the US.
0:59.2	The first step towards some semblance of normalcy.
1:02.6	President Biden called it a great milestone.
1:05.2	After a year of hard work and so much sacrifice, the rule is very simple.
1:10.6	Get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do.
1:16.6	It's a simple rule that raised a lot of questions.
1:19.6	Like, how do we know who's vaccinated?
1:21.6	Who should verify that?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.