In 2020, the world was forced to make various changes in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. Everything from our jobs, our schooling, and our social lives were experienced from behind a screen to ensure the safety of ourselves and others. On the off chance we do leave the house, it is with the addition of a mask, always six feet away from other people.
No one can say it hasn’t been difficult, but despite our rocky start, we were able to adapt to these changes in our day-to-day lives within such a short span of time. Now in the year 2021, it seems we are finally reaching that light at the end of the tunnel. With the COVID vaccines becoming readily available to the public, many establishments have decided to ease up the mask mandates.
Wearing a mask whenever we leave the house has become another simple fact of life in quarantine, but some retailers are beginning to allow fully vaccinated people the option to shop without them. Among these retailers, Walmart and Costco are allowing their fully vaccinated customers to walk in their stores without the need for a face mask, so long as the local/state regulations don’t mandate it.
Walmart even stated that they intend to drop the mask mandate for fully vaccinated employees by May 18th. Although many stores will still require customers to wear masks regardless of their vaccination status, the vaccines are slowly allowing us as a nation to go back to how things were before the start of the coronavirus.
A common question raised was whether or not these retailers would require proof of vaccination. Costco in particular stated that they wouldn’t request proof of their customer’s vaccination, urging their customers to be "responsible and respectful cooperation with this revised policy."
This places the success of these new mask guidelines on the customer, and while it is tempting to relying on good faith, this could complicate the country’s recovery as a whole.