It’s been more than a month since Minnesota’s indoor mask mandate ended.
Masks are no longer required by the state in grocery stores, restaurants, theaters or bars. They are still recommended for people not vaccinated against COVID-19 and even for the vaccinated in some settings, like hospitals and child care.
In some parts of the state, you wouldn’t know the mask mandate had ended, as people — including fully vaccinated people — continue to wear masks, perhaps more as a social measure than a disease preventing one.
But for the fully vaccinated, is there any scientific reason to keep wearing masks? Experts say if you consider all the factors at play in virus transmission, the answer might not be a hard “yes” or a hard “no.”
The evidence
First off, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends people who aren’t vaccinated keep wearing masks in public. Research has found masks effective in slowing the transmission of COVID-19 — offering some protection to the wearer of the mask, but also protecting the people around them by preventing at least some viral particles from being airborne and breathed in by others.
But when it comes to the vaccinated, each of the three vaccines approved for use in the U.S. has been found to be highly effective in preventing people from getting sick from COVID-19.
That’s been proven not just in clinical trials but in real life, as Minnesota’s COVID-19 case numbers have dropped since the introduction of the vaccines in December. And it means that if you are vaccinated, it’s really quite unlikely you will get sick from COVID-19.
It’s also unlikely that you’ll give COVID-19 if you’re fully vaccinated. Early on in the vaccine rollout, the science on this wasn’t as clear – we only knew that the vaccines prevented people from getting sick. But with so many people vaccinated now, a clearer picture of the vaccines’ efficacy is emerging. Research finds they’re good at not only preventing sickness but also transmission, said Dr. Beth Thielen, an infectious disease physician with the University of Minnesota Medical School and M Health Fairview.
At least for now. The verdict is less clear in terms of how long the vaccines’ protection will last as well as whether they’ll be able to thwart all variants effectively.
But even when it comes to the strain of COVID-19 that was predominant last year — before the more infectious variants — the vaccines are not 100 percent effective, said Kris Ehresmann, the infectious disease director at the Minnesota Department of Health. As of last week, Minnesota had seen fewer than 3,000 breakthrough cases (representing less than 0.1 percent of vaccinated people), which refer to cases that have developed in people who have been fully vaccinated. Usually, these cases aren’t severe, but in rare cases, they are.
It’s also not a bad idea to consider the vaccination status of the community when deciding whether to wear a mask, Ehresmann said.
While more than 50 percent of Minnesotans over the age of 16 statewide have been fully vaccinated, that number varies considerably depending on what part of the state you’re in. In parts of Central Minnesota, it’s far less, which means any given person at the store in some of these counties is less likely to have been vaccinated and more likely to transmit COVID-19.
For a fully vaccinated person, the risk is low, but not totally nonexistent.
“This is sort of a personal comfort choice issue,” Thielen said. “I will say for myself, I’m fully vaccinated, I have stopped wearing a mask and in grocery stores and those sorts of places.”
While the vaccines work well on the whole, there’s a certain percent of the population whose bodies don’t mount enough of an immune response to the vaccines to give them full protection, whether that’s because of ongoing chemotherapy, organ transplant or other conditions, Thielen said.
“That is a real legitimate area of concern – that people would still want to wear masks to protect themselves or household contacts that they might be putting at risk,” for COVID-19 and for other diseases, she said.
Ehresmann said that because some people who are immunocompromised don’t have the full protection of a vaccine, it’s important that even where masks are no longer required, people’s wishes to wear a mask is respected.
Collateral benefits
It’s important to remember, too, that masks have collateral benefits beyond slowing the spread of COVID-19, Thielen said.
Right now, the U.S. is seeing an unseasonable wave of RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, in small children, Thielen said. Usually a winter virus, this common respiratory disease is often mild but sometimes serious, causing lung inflammation and pneumonia. Keeping up the mask-wearing can help slow the spread of RSV and other respiratory diseases.
“It’s not just protecting against COVID, or preventing transmission of COVID, it’s protecting against transmission of all these other things, which we had a nice little break from while everybody’s been distancing,” Thielen said.
Thielen also said that, pandemic or not, masks are a good choice in environments where there’s lots of potential for disease spread or where people may be immunocompromised, like clinics and hospitals.
“When I’m at work, I am worried about not just myself, but that I’m around a lot of immunocompromised people and I don’t want to be the one that spreads what could be a potentially fatal infection to one of my patients,” she said. A lasting cultural change of wearing masks more in settings like this and other tight quarters, especially during the winter when virus transmission is high, could help keep everyone healthier, she said.
And even as many tire of the pandemic the masks signify, Ehresmann said it’s important to remember that masks don’t hurt anyone.
“I’ve always said it’s never wrong to wear a mask,” Ehresmann said. “People who are wearing masks have added up all the risks and the benefits and said, ‘Well, OK, I think I’m going to still choose to wear a mask.’”
So some vaccinated people are practicing “theater” in their mask wearing?
Did you read a single word of the article?
Perhaps as a social measure. Sounds like theatre
They continue to wear masks for safety reasons. Most hospitals, clinics and some businesses still mandate wearing masks. I feel it is the responsibility of every American citizen to help fight the war against this virus and get vaccinated, when available, in an attempt at ending the war on this pandemic and getting back to normal. Not taking the vaccination when it is available to you is unacceptable and irresponsible. Those individuals that volunteered for the early vaccine trials were courageous and I consider them heros as well as medical staffers and first responders. Those who continue to wait to get vaccinated, except for medical reasons, don’t serve their Country well.
Many of our veterans that actively took part in various wars and conflicts, especially those that saw combat, had serious concerns about dying, being wounded or becoming disabled. However, so many stood up bravely and faced our enemy even with those concerns. Today our enemy is a virus and I ask all Americans to standup bravely and do your part in fighting this virus by getting vaccinated.
Probably, but such “theater” is completely harmless. Contrast with the anti-masker and anti-vaxxer theatrics we’ve had to put up with for the last fifteen months, which was and continues to be, alas, deadly.
I have also been fully vaccinated some months now. I would love to stop wearing masks…but I can’t cuz too many Americans remain unvaccinated and have never worn masks either. It angers me cuz I’ve become horribly claustrophobic in recent yrs. It’s also summertime now. But I’ve been seriously ill for many years–due to a different virus!–so remain high risk. So while others continue to make this a ‘political’ issue instead of a ‘public health’ issue I remain masked. Furthermore, the USA is nowhere near true ‘herd immunity’ yet, nor do the various vaccines offer 100% immunity. Lastly, new variants continue to evolve & emerge and there hasn’t been enough time to test adequately or longer term to be assured that the current vaccines will offer the same level of protection. The new Delta variant is proving to be especially virulent and is rapidly spreading around the world, causing serious concern among the scientists and medical community. We should all be paying very close attention! One last point: the world is very global and traveling is ramping up. Yet too many poor countries cannot afford the vaccines so their populations are an additional potential risk to travelers to their parts of the world. I called this pandemic the first week of Jan 2020, and every aspect of it since, correctly. Had others also paid better attention, and addressed it quickly and adequately, we might be in a far better position now. But that didnt happen. As a result millions of lives have been lost worldwide. This was unnecessary and is unconscionable. Nor are we anywhere near out of the woods yet. So take off your rose colored glasses, stop listening to politicians who are not well enough versed on this issue &/or have other vested interests, and do the responsible thing for ALL OF US. Keep wearing masks til this is over. And get vaccinated if you haven’t yet! It’s free, easy now, and largely effective. It’ll save add’l lives and ultimately finally free us all of mask wearing sooner rather than later. I will welcome that day.
It is now more important to stay current on all vaccines, including taking boosters on schedule, and encourage others to do so. The U is working on a clinical trial for immunosuppressed people who did not develop antibodies. Great idea. The same organization is allowing unvaccinated first year students to enroll without quarantine or testing. Not a smart decision. If you have the power to encourage others, do so. We simply do not have enough fully vaccinated people to let it be.
Those of us who are still wearing masks while indoors with other people who may or may not have been vaccinated are doing so because, after we have got through all these long months of pandemic, why would we risk getting a “breakthrough” case, especially of the newer variant that’s so terrible? My goal: avoid Covid at all costs, and that means wearing a mask until the disease is crushed.
Remember: only about 50% of adult Minnesotans are vaccinated! Outstate,there are lots of head-in-the-sand Republicans who refuse to accept that there even IS a disease called Covid-19, much less get vaccinated against it, for free. Ignorance is one thing (evidently lots of “hesitants” about the vaccine are just really misinformed about its safety), but denial is political and really, really sad.
There are people who cannot be vaccinated, and they will be wearing masks indefinitely.
I am fully vaccinated, but thanks to going around unmasked for the first time in months, I developed a summer cold, and when I went out to the store today, I wore a mask. This would be considered totally normal in Japan, and if some anti-vaxxer or follower of the so-called “Front Line Doctors” doesn’t like it, too bad.
For what? If you are vaccinated, you cannot get or give the virus. I laugh every time someone here at Minnpost claims to show a peer reviewed study on masks working versus the virus. They are short on facts and long on assumptions, the very antithesis of an actual study. Never been proven that masks help! Just look at states that had no mask mandate and states that had complete lockdowns…. No difference, actually open states fared better.
The vaccinated are not dying but they can still become ill from the unvaccinated, particularly if they have underlying health issues. NO ONE has the right to harm or kill others! Understand this! The still unvaccinated are now the ones becoming ill and dying and prolonging the national and worldwide effects. Your argument is disingenuous and smacks of lip service to again: political hacks.
Right now, Missouri, which never shut down completely and never had a mask mandate, is ground zero for the Delta variant. Hospitals there are starting to see heavy caseloads of covid-19 patients, especially those in the younger age groups.
Ironically, it is the anti-vaxxers and devotees of the self-styled “Front Line Doctors” who are giving the virus a playing field to do what viruses do: mutate.
The vaccines have been proved effective so get vaccinated. The virus spreads mainly by airborne droplets. If you believe that masks are not effective then you are a fool and probably a danger to our society.
At this point in the pandemic when vaccines are readily available to anyone on a moment’s notice I no longer feel obligated to wear a mask in public places to protect others. I got vaccinated, which lowers my risk of transmission orders of magnitude beyond wearing a mask. I don’t feel obligated to do anything further to protect people who refuse to get vaccinated, or wear a mask, or take any other measures to avoid COVID-19. If they don’t care about their health then why should I care?
I think wearing a mask in a hospital or clinic, a place full of people who are in poor health for one reason or another, is a good idea that should have been implemented before the pandemic.
Frankly I wish masks would become normalized in situations like public transit, grocery shopping, etc. I’d be happy to skip cold and flu season every year.
Right now my grocery store has a sign encouraging mask wearing, and most people comply. I’m vaccinated, but I certainly don’t mind wearing one if it makes others more comfortable.
I’m fully vaccinated for about two months now. I was sitting in a Chinese restaurant waiting to pick up my take-out order the other day… without a mask. This restaurant has some issues with it’s COVID era online order app so 15-20 people were stacked up just inside the door (it was raining outside). As I sat there surrounded by a bunch of people in close quarters I did some calculations: Right now (and at the time) the vaccination level in Henn Co. is 77%. In theory that could mean that 2-3 out of ten people in a setting like this might be unvaccinated. Furthermore, mask compliance has almost collapsed among those that refuse, decline, or otherwise haven’t been vaccinated, (many of these people were never very compliant in the first place) therefore in a group of 10-15 people the odds of one or two of them being unvaccinated and maskless is not zero. In fact, some recent surveys are revealing that while up to 90% of those have been vaccinated still wear masks, on occasion, only 40% of those unvaccinated do so. There were two children in the group for about fifteen minutes so they were certainly not vaccinated. Add to that in house patrons of the packed restaurant who were leaving their tables and walking through the congested entrance and you have additional risk of exposure by an asymptomatic person infected with a new variant. There was almost no fresh air ventilation in this area of the restaurant.
New variants, specially the Delta variant are becoming the most heavily transmitted strain of COVID in MN, there have been a number of almost entirely Delta variant outbreaks in this State. Vaccine protection against new variants while good, may not be as air tight as you could otherwise expect. If you can avoid exposure to a new variant, you should. Remember, the new variant your exposed to could be a new-new variant that hasn’t been recognized yet, they can emerge anywhere.
After taking all of this into consideration I moved to a less congested area in the restaurant, and put my mask on. Like Ms. Sullivan I see no reason to risk exposure to a new variant. In theory, I could be infected by a new variant, remain asymptomatic, and transmit that variant to someone who’s more vulnerable, even if it doesn’t make me ill.
I’m also still wearing a mask in Menards, because they ask us to even if we’ve been vaccinated.
Even without the mask remain conscious of my distances from people, and ‘ll do that until the pandemic is over, really over.
It does feel weird to be without a mask after over a year of always wearing one in crowded scenarios, but not weird enough to keep wearing it all the time. I no longer wear exclusively KN95 masks, which was our practice at the height of the pandemic when the new variants started emerging. I wear the less protective surgical masks ( I’ve found those to be the most comfortable, and we’ve got a million of them). I still limit my time indoors in public scenarios, and we have yet to go to eat at a restaurant.
None of this has anything to do with living in fear or oppression, in fact it eliminates fear and anxiety and makes it possible to go wherever I want to go. Nor is there any theater associated with this, I’m not performing for anyone.