Mask guidelines changing

CLEVELAND, Tennessee (WDEF)- According to reports, the CDC will soon advise people to still wear masks indoors in counties with high levels of meaningful COVID-19 cases such as hospitalizations and deaths as compared to the total number of cases.

“We’re starting to see more and more people around the country, anyway, relaxing their Covid restrictions. In this county, we’re at 43% fully vaccinated. Until we get that percentage up above 60 anyway, we’re going to need to be cognizant of the fact that we need masks if we’re going to be in a group where we don’t know the people. I believe if we get it up to 60% or more (vaccinated), then we’re gonna find ourselves more of an endemic phase and more like the flu,” said Dan Trueblood, Pharm.D. with Preferred Cherokee Pharmacy.

He added, people get sick and die every year from the flu but not in the mass numbers we saw during the height of the COVID pandemic, particularly with people who have vaccine protection.

“The most important thing for vaccination is it protects yourself from catching Covid and if you do catch it, it will reduce the chances of you getting very sick. Not that people don’t die that are vaccinated, but the unvaccinated percentage is much higher,” said Trueblood.

“For nearly 2 years now this piece of fabric has been highly divisive. Some say you have to wear it in order to protect yourself against COVID-19. Others say that forcing you to wear it is a violation of your rights.”

“Government is for the people, by the people and I think that people should be able to decide that. What they want to wear, how they wanna wear it, where they wanna wear it, and if you feel you should wear it then please wear it,” said D.J. Sommerville.

“I don’t believe that mask mandates are the best,” said John Farmer.

Brian Armstrong News 12 Now