When will we stop wearing face masks? What health experts predict

As we approach one year of the COVID-19 pandemic – and more Americans are getting vaccinated – many people are starting to wonder how long it will take to wear masks in public.

Some states, including Montana, Iowa, North Dakota, Mississippi, and Texas, recently announced the end of their mask mandates.

But not wearing a mask right now is “a really bad idea, especially with the spread variants,” says Richard Watkins, MD, an infectious disease physician and professor of internal medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still recommends that people 2 years of age and older wear a mask in public around people outside their homes, which begs the question: when are we actually going to stop wearing masks. face masks? And will they become the new normal during cold and flu season? Here’s what infectious disease experts know so far.

When can we safely stop wearing face masks?

That’s “hard to say,” given that the end of regular face mask wear is tied to the end of the pandemic, says Dr Watkins. But, he adds, “if and when we get herd immunity, routine mask wear can probably be discontinued.” (Herd immunity means that a majority of the population is immune to an infectious disease, providing indirect protection to those who are not immune to the disease, such as newborns or vulnerable people who cannot recover. get vaccinated because of health risks.)

Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently told CNN that it was “possible” that public health officials will continue to recommend masks in 2022. However, a- He said, life should look more normal by then, adding, “We are going to have a significant degree of normalcy beyond the terrible burden we have all endured over the past year.”

Doctors agree that masks will likely be recommended for some time. “Preventing infection remains the best way to reduce illness and death, and the best prevention comes from wearing a mask and social distancing,” says Lewis Nelson, MD, president of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. “Until we have better information about the development of variant viral strains and the effectiveness of current or future vaccines, we need to wear masks in many of our interpersonal interactions.

It is likely that some type of mask guide will be in place until there is a “sufficient decrease in community spread of the virus,” says infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “It may be late 2021, because more and more people will have access to the vaccine.”

Even if you have been fully vaccinated, the CDC still recommends that you continue to wear a mask in public because it is not known if those vaccinated can still transmit COVID-19 to others who have not yet received the vaccine. .

As for the real mask warrants, “this will be done state by state,” explains Dr Adalja. But as the spread of COVID-19 declines in some areas, mask warrants may eventually disappear, he notes.

Will face masks be recommended after the COVID-19 pandemic?

It’s possible, especially since masks have been proven to repel infections. Flu season was virtually nonexistent this year – CDC data revealed that there have been only 1,500 clinically diagnosed flu cases since September. That’s a huge drop from the flu season last year, which saw around 56 million cases.

For this reason, experts say masks can stay tough, at least during cold and flu season. “Masks were common in Asia before COVID, so I expect more people in the United States to be comfortable wearing them after the pandemic,” says Dr. Watkins.

Dr Adalja points out that people have always been advised to wear a mask if they have a respiratory virus, even before the pandemic. “It won’t change, but more people will probably buy into it,” he says.

And some people may continue to wear masks in public, such as in crowded areas and on public transportation, simply because they have seen that masks can help prevent disease, notes Dr Adalja.

For now, doctors say, continue to disguise yourself until public health officials give Americans the green light to go out in public without one.

This article is correct at the time of publication. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly evolves and the scientific community’s understanding of the novel coronavirus grows, some information may have changed since it was last updated. While we seek to keep all of our stories up to date, please visit the online resources provided by the CDC, WHO, and your local public health department to stay informed of the latest news. Always talk to your doctor for professional medical advice.

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