Thread by @HuffmanLabDU

Lots of really good insight in this piece arguing that indoor mask mandates should be lifted as vaccinations increase in a community.

I especially appreciate the personal anecdotes & perspectives from @linseymarr & @j_g_allen.
By @cheyennehaslett.
abcnews.go.com/Politics/press…

"We should not undersell the vaccines. They offer excellent protection" said @linseymarr "I think we can really start thinking about ending mask mandates once everyone who wants to be vaccinated has had a chance to be fully vaccinated. And that should be in another month or two."

"The timeline on just how soon the CDC could loosen guidelines is unclear, since experts say masks indoors should stick around until every adult who wants the vaccine has had a chance to reach full vaccination. At the same time, over 116M Americans have already hit that mark."

"Once everyone has had the chance to get it, then we start to move into this personal risk decision making," @j_g_allen said. "And my feeling is that it's reasonable by July 4 or so that we'll be in a place to pull back on some of these mandates, assuming cases keep dropping ..."

"Marr, who is fully vaccinated, said she'd now be comfortable indoor dining, going to a grocery store without a mask on, or attending an outdoor barbeque mask-less, with people who are both vaccinated and unvaccinated -- though she would follow the rules in her community."

"Marr said she would be comfortable with her children, who aren't vaccinated, doing the same because she's generally been more concerned about them spreading it to someone who's vulnerable to COVID than she is about their risks of severe illness."

"The place she would still consider wearing a mask, Marr said, would be in a really crowded indoor environment, like a standing-room only indoor concert or a packed worship service with lots of singing. ... also consider if case numbers are high or vaccination rates are low..."

"Allen said he looks forward to traveling with his family this summer, mostly without masks. Like Marr, he said he would pay attention to how much virus is circulating in the community, as well as the social norms of the area he's in."

"I'm worried that if we don't relax restrictions, then people say, 'What's the point of getting the vaccine?'" said @j_g_allen.

"If we then don't pull back controls when it's time to pull back, we lose credibility"