Pittsburgh responds to new mask guidelines set by CDC

PITTSBURGH — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its guidelines Tuesday on the wearing of masks outdoors, saying fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to cover their faces anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.

Now that the guidelines have been eased, Pittsburgh doctors told Channel 11 what they think about them – some are saying it should have been done a while ago.

President Joe Biden still urged Americans to get vaccinated, calling it a “patriotic duty.”

Here are some of the changes:

• You won’t need a mask when your outside except if you’re in a crowded event like a Pirates game or at graduation.
• You can visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors with no masks.
• You don’t have to take a COVID-19 test before or after flying domestically.
• You can also spend time with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 indoors without wearing a mask.

Doctor Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health stated that the CDC is taking things one step at a time.

“The CDC is taking cautious baby steps forward based on the science. I do think some states and some municipalities have moved ahead of the CDC guidelines and I think it is justified.”

Community members like Amy Calabrese and Jordan Dennison have varying opinions about the guidelines.

“I’m tired of the mask mandate, you know,” Calabrese emphasized. “It’s time.”

“I’m not comfortable being around people without a mask,” Dennison stated. “My grandpa has been in and out of the hospital. I’m not comfortable trying to give it to him.”

Local doctors are saying that this summer could look a lot more like 2019 rather than 2020 if more people get vaccinated.

CDC issues new guidelines, fully-vaccinated people can gather without masks (NCD)