WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Mask on or mask off for the vaccinated?
As COVID-19 cases rise, those who are fully vaccinated may be thinking twice about going maskless.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that anyone who is fully vaccinated can resume activities as he or she did before the pandemic without wearing a mask.
But as the majority of Florida faces a high level of COVID-19 transmission now, many who are vaccinated are choosing to keep wearing their masks.
If someone is not vaccinated, the CDC said those individuals should wear a mask in indoor public places.
"I feel like it's still 50/50 honestly, and so then every time you see them, you're like, 'Are you vaccinated?' 'Why are you not wearing your mask?'" Natalie Menn said. "But, I mean, everyone has to do what they feel is right for themselves."
Menn lost her dad to COVID-19 in April. Even though she's fully vaccinated, she said she's still wearing her mask.
"Why not have the extra protection?" Menn said. "It doesn't bother me that much. I'm used to it at this point."
Infectious disease specialist Dr Leslie Diaz said it's the unvaccinated who really need to continue wearing their masks to prevent the spread of the virus, especially the highly contagious Delta variant.
Diaz said vaccine breakthrough cases are not common, and new data suggests vaccinated people who get infected with COVID-19 are not shedding the virus like the unvaccinated.
"They say that studies that are being done, positive PCR with mild symptoms with patients who are vaccinated, they don't transmit the virus, and that's true," Diaz said. "That study was well done and it's still ongoing, but that's true."
One thing to keep in mind is the CDC's website said it is still learning how long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people.
