On May 13th, the Centers for Disease Control updated mask guidance for fully vaccinated individuals, loosening restrictions on mask wearing indoors. However, for the time being, Chaffee County remains under the active local-level public health order, which requires masks worn while indoors.
The CDC states that people who are fully vaccinated can forgo masks and social distancing in most indoor situations. An individual is not fully vaccinated until two weeks after their 2nd dose of Moderna or Pfizer or two weeks after their first dose of Johnson & Johnson.
Though this is welcome news for many, the CDC guidance does not override state or local public health orders.
“The CDC’s new mask guidance for fully vaccinated people will likely be formally incorporated into the Colorado statewide mask mandate and public health order very soon. In the meantime, the current local indoor mask mandates remain in effect. We anticipate that revised state orders will be nuanced so we are waiting to review those before making changes to our Chaffee County Public Health Order. We feel this approach provides more certainty and continuity for our county businesses and institutions and we appreciate their patience in the interim,” says Chaffee County Commissioner Greg Felt.
Chaffee County Public Health anticipates updating the local public health order in the coming days. For the time being, Chaffee County operates with an indoor mask mandate in effect.
The new CDC guidance demonstrates that vaccines are safe and effective. All eligible individuals are encouraged to seek out a vaccine.
