Updated 8:54 p.m.
Massachusetts officials pumped the breaks on Thursday after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that fully vaccinated adults can resume most activities, indoors and outdoors, without masks or social distancing.
It's a sign that things are truly changing after a year of restrictions. But in Massachusetts, that change won't come overnight.
“The administration welcomes the new CDC guidance and will be updating Massachusetts’ COVID restrictions in the near future. In the meantime, the current mask order remains in place," Gov. Charlie Baker's press secretary, Sarah Finlaw, said in a statement.
Masks have been a part of daily life for the better part of a year after the CDC urged their use last year to slow the spread of COVID-19. The new guidelines mean that people who are fully vaccinated — meaning that it's been at least two weeks since their single does of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or their second dose of the Pfizer of Moderna vaccines — can now laregely go without masks. Masks are still required on public transit, including trains, planes and buses.
Just under 45% of Massachusetts residents are fully vaccinated, according an analaysis of CDC data by The New York Times — the fifth highest vaccination rate in the country. People who are not fully vaccinated will need to continue wearing masks in most public settings.
"The Commonwealth is leading the nation in the vaccination effort, and the administration will continue to make vaccines available to everyone who lives, works or studies in Massachusetts," Finlaw added.
Reaction to the CDC's updated guidance from Massachusetts residents was mixed.
Kevin Garcia, of East Boston, works in a restaurant and has concerns about what kind of protection the vaccines offer.
“I'm still going to be wearing my mask, because I want to take precautions, you know?” he said. “People should just think about it before they just go off and take their mask [off], because this virus was pretty serious before."
Maeve Hermida is a school nurse in Cambridge. She was excited by the news.
“I work in a school, so who knows what will happen in the school setting,” she said. “But, you know, for adults, for us adults that are fully vaccinated, it's great news. We can, you know, return to normal, hopefully."
Shira Doron, a physician and epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, was surprised by the timing of the new guidance because of the potential for confusion in public places over who is vaccinate and who isn't.
“It will be really interesting to see how it plays out in a real world setting,” she said.
Doron emphasized that cases are dropping and will likely continue to drop. She thinks that very soon vaccinated and unvaccinated people can be maskless, indoors and outdoors.
Some businesses may still ask customers to keep their masks on even after the state drops its own mask mandate — at least for a little while. Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, points out that many small businesses have continued to be cautious throughout the pandemic in an effort to make employees and customers feel safe, even as some state restrictions have been dropped.
He expects there to be a transition period between when the state drops its mask mandate and when some business stop requiring them.
“I think some will continue to have their own policies for masks, whether to require everyone to wear masks or to make it clear that we’re asking you, if you’re not vaccinated, to wear a mask, to be honest and do that,” he said. “You know, you’re goning to see a wide variety. And we would ask consumers and visitors … to follow the guidance of the particular location and respect what they’re doing and follow their rules.”
While some may continue to be cautious, others are calling for a more rapid response to dropping restrictions.
Paul Diego Craney, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, said in a statement that the CDC is taking steps to move the country forward and that Baker should do the same.
“Going maskless should be celebrated, and re-opening the state’s businesses should be an exciting moment,” Craney said. “Restoring our rights and freedoms shouldn’t be delayed another minute. Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito need to embrace the good news and begin getting things back to normal.”
GBH News’ Joshua Eaton, Mike Deehan, Mary Blake and Mark Herz contributed to this report.
