OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – A day after the CDC announced fully vaccinated people no longer need to use a face mask, opinions on the matter have varied.
Some people in the Hispanic and Latino communities of Kissimmee said they don’t feel comfortable with that decision because it’s hard to know if a person has been vaccinated.
“I think this thing is gonna continue and everybody should wear the mask until this thing stops,” Miguel González who was vaccinated in January said.
He’s not alone in this opinion.
Neftalí Hernández did not welcome the news by the CDC.
“Hay q ponerse la máscara todo el tiempo. No porque tengamos la vacuna digamos que estamos ya inmunes a eso. Sabes la vacuna es para prevenir no porque estamos curados,” Hernández said in Spanish.
Hernandez said we have to put masks on all the time. Just because we have the vaccine, that doesn’t mean we are immune to the virus and the vaccine is to prevent not to cure us.
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On the other hand, José Alvarez said he felt a sense of relief now that he can go outside mask-free.
“I was happy. Very happy,” Alvarez said and added he would only wear a mask if businesses still require the use of a face covering.
“I think it is fair because some people don’t have a shot they say they do,” Alvarez said.
More than 399,000 people live in Osceola County. The Department of Health reports 114,362 people are fully vaccinated in the county and 150,058 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the science supports their updated CDC guidance.
“If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic. If you develop symptoms you should put your mask back on and get tested right away,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.