We are hitting some important benchmarks when it comes to the coronavirus.
In Wisconsin, 10% of people in the state have now been fully vaccinated. One million-plus have gotten one dose. More doses are on their way, and there is every reason to believe that we can get most people the shot by the summer.
Across the country, over 92 million people have gotten a shot. That breaks down to 31 million who are fully vaccinated, and another 60 million with one dose. That’s about 10 percent fully vaccinated, and almost 20 percent with one dose.
Hospitalizations are down, new cases are down, many states are scaling back on testing because the desire to be tested is down as well.
All of this is unmitigated good news. But we are continuing to be told to be careful, be wary, be afraid.
The CDC yesterday came out with the guidance for people who’ve been vaccinated.
From Buzzfeed:
The CDC released pandemic safety recommendations for vaccinated people on Monday, allowing them to meet indoors with each other without masks, or one other household of unvaccinated people if they are at low risk of serious illnesses.
“If you and a friend or you and a family member are both vaccinated you can have dinner together wearing masks without distancing,” said CDC director Rochelle Walensky, speaking at a White House briefing. “You can visit your grandparents if you have been vaccinated and they have been too.”
“The recommendations issued today are just a first step,” Walensky added. Whether vaccinated people can get sick and transmit an infection is the big open question that will shape recommendations moving forward, she said.
Here is what the new CDC guidelines lay out:
- Fully vaccinated people can visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without masking or physical distancing.
- Fully vaccinated people can visit one unvaccinated household where the people there are at low risk of serious coronavirus illness.
- Fully vaccinated people do not need to quarantine after exposure to someone infected with COVID-19 if they do not have any symptoms of the disease.
- Unvaccinated people from different households should continue to wear masks and physically distance from others who have not yet been vaccinated, avoiding indoor gatherings.
Let’s just acknowledge that the government continues to tell you how to behave, and who you can visit in your own home.
But the message here is clear: Even with the vaccine you should hunker down.
Why? The numbers do not make the case. The science is clear. But this is not about the numbers or the science. This is about power and fear.
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