The newest CDC mask guidance provided as many questions as it did answers. It says vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks, but unvaccinated people do.
One big question is how do businesses enforce the new guidelines?
My guess is that Los Angeles businesses won’t even try. I think they will make masking optional at some point.
Determining who is vaccinated is difficult and controversial.
So is relying on the “honor system” a better idea?
Probably not, because some people will definitely lie.
The Honor System Won’t Work
The idea of a “vaccine passport” is controversial. So much so that I seriously doubt something like that would work in Los Angeles.
Many major retailers have already come out against the idea. I suspect most L.A. businesses will do the same.
Los Angeles businesses are also wary of having mask rules at all since there have been issues in the past. No business wants customers fighting with their staff over enforcement of mask rules.
That just leaves the “honor system.” Trusting unvaccinated people to be honest and wear a mask.
Dr. Fauci agrees that this is where we are headed.
“I mean, you’re going to be depending on people being honest enough to say whether they were vaccinated or not and responsible enough to be wearing … a mask.”-Anthony Fauci
Will it work?
Probably not.
Michael Cunningham, a psychologist at the University of Louisville, spent 35 years researching lying, cheating, and stealing. He concluded that most people lie about once per day. Also, 25% of people lie about “consequential things.”
But we really don’t need experts to tell us that people lie. Common sense tells us that not everyone is honest.
My Thoughts
The honor system won’t work and that is fine.
Here are three reasons why I don’t think it matters:
1. Protect the vulnerable
The main goal of covid protocols is to protect the vulnerable.
That is less of a concern at this point. The most vulnerable have been given the opportunity to get vaccinated at this point.
If they chose not to get vaccinated, they could still wear masks. If they choose not to do even that, it’s their life. We don’t stop people from smoking, after all.
2. Vaccinated people aren’t high-risk
One argument for universal masking is that the unmasked pose a risk to the masked.
That is no longer the case. Now that we have the vaccine, people who are vaccinated are not at high risk.
3. It’s a free country
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said it well.
“If you are vaccinated, we are saying you are safe, you can take up your mask and you are not at risk of severe disease or hospitalization from COVID-19. If you are not vaccinated, you are not safe. Please go get vaccinated or continue to wear your mask.”-Dr. Walensky
As long as people are fully informed of the risks, they should be free to do what they want.
There are many dangerous things that we allow people to do.
America doesn’t force people to live healthy lifestyles. We allow people to ignore CDC guidelines about all sorts of things.
If unvaccinated people want to take the risk, they should have every right to do so.
Like it or not, Los Angeles is going to be mask optional relatively soon.