Some in US Not Ready to Give Up Face Masks

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

More than 120 million Americans are now vaccinated¹ against the new coronavirus. Local officials across the United States are easing social distancing. And many are dropping measures that require people to wear nose and mouth covers, or masks.

However, not everyone in the country is ready to surrender their mask. They have become the most common and visible COVID-19 control measure.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, said recently fully² vaccinated people no longer need to socially distance themselves. It also advised that this group can safely go without a mask in any outdoor activity and during some indoor events as well.

A fully vaccinated person is two weeks past their final shot of a COVID-19 vaccine³. Partly vaccinated or unvaccinated people, the health agency said, should continue wearing masks.

The guidance still calls for masks in crowded indoor settings including hospitals, prisons, airplanes and buses. But it clears the way to reopening workplaces, schools and other places that closed during the pandemic.

Rules and guidelines aside, people may not be emotionally ready to give up their masks -- especially after wearing them for a year. Others are more than ready to throw the face coverings in the waste container.

The Associated Press talked with people across the U.S. about their thoughts on masks.

First, let's hear from Jan Massie. She is a retired⁴ teacher and lives in the southern state of Alabama. Now fully vaccinated, Massie does not have to wear a mask. Yet she does, even as temperatures rise in her home state.

She said, "I've worn a mask where it really wasn't required."

Why? She said wearing a face mask helped to protect her from infectious diseases in general. She not only avoided COVID-19 but also the flu and her usual yearly colds.

Massie said she has not faced any criticism for wearing a mask in public. But other Americans report that they have.

The spread of COVID-19 is slowing in the U.S. Almost 40 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. The CDC reports the disease has killed about 585,000 Americans. So, millions of people are deciding whether to continue wearing face masks. Others ignored, rejected or disputed CDC guidance on face covers from the start.

Denise Duckworth is among that group.

"I've always been against masks, and I think all their rules have been hypocritical, and they've been confusing," said Duckworth.

Duckworth spoke⁵ during a visit to New Orleans, Louisiana, where she walked mask-free in the popular French Quarter neighborhood. Many other people on the streets were also maskless.

But some Americans remain concerned that the current vaccines⁶ may not protect against new, and future, versions of the virus.

Alex Bodell of Ithaca, New York, is one of them.

The fully vaccinated man was visiting New Orleans at the same time as Duckworth. But unlike her, he wore a mask in public.

He told the Associated Press that he felt more comfortable and was able to enjoy himself more being fully vaccinated and wearing a mask.

In Fargo, North Dakota, a college student went maskless during an outdoor event. Andrew Kodet said he has been vaccinated and will follow the CDC guidelines.

"If you've been vaccinated and you've put the effort into it to avoid spreading the disease, it's about time to begin this rebuilding process," said the 20-year-old Kodet.

Near Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Vanessa Li spoke with the AP when she was not yet past the two-week point of her second vaccine shot. So, she still wears her mask outside, especially when around many people. Li said that she has been slow to take off the mask because "it's been such a habit."

The 25-year-old is an epidemiologist, a scientist who studies disease spread. She noted⁷ the different versions of the virus and risk levels around the world. As international travel returns to normal, she is not "sure how at risk everyone is at the moment."

Justin Lawrence wears a mask while making a drink at the coffee place he owns in San Francisco, California. Lawrence said he must obey local rules and they require mask wearing in indoor public spaces.

"It puts small businesses in the place of having to police people all over again. And you can't tell by looking at somebody that they've been vaccinated," he said.

New York City resident Raquel Mitchell recovered from COVID-19 in December. She is firm in her refusal of vaccination⁸. She told the AP the treatments were developed too quickly to be trustworthy. Mitchell always wears a mask in public. When will she stop?

"I don't know. Never," said Mitchell. "It's going to be really difficult for me."

Words in This Story

visible – adj. able to be seen : easily seen or understood

hypocritical – adj. acting⁹ in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

confusing – adj. something uncertain or unable to understand

comfortable – adj. allowing you to be relaxed : causing no worries, difficulty, or uncertainty¹⁰

habit – n. a way of acting or doing that has become fixed by being repeated often

1 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。