(WWJ) The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is lifting the mask requirements for fully vaccinated individuals indoors and outdoors, taking effect on Saturday, May 15 at 9 a.m. (tomorrow).
The updated mask and gathering order aligns with the new CDC guidance that fully vaccinated individuals no longer have to wear a mask except in the most crowded of indoor spaces.
The updated CDC guidance reads: “Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”
“For more than a year, we’ve been following the best data and science to slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a release. “The vast majority of us have trusted the scientists and experts to keep us safe during the pandemic, and it has worked. With millions of Michiganders fully vaccinated, we can now safely and confidently take the next step to get back to normal.”
Unvaccinated Michiganders, or those who have not completed the full vaccination process, will no longer need to wear a mask outdoors, according to the new guidance. However, they will still be required to wear a mask inside in public settings "to protect themselves and others," according to the Governor's Office. As of now, the broad indoor mask mandate for the unvaccinated is set to expire on July 1.
The updated order was met with bipartisan support.
The CDC says even fully vaccinated people should still wear masks in buses, planes, hospitals, homeless shelters and prisons. People with weakened immune systems, such as those who are undergoing chemotherapy or organ transplant survivors, are urged to talk with their doctors before removing their masks, regardless of their vaccination status.
Fully vaccinated is defined by two weeks out from the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or the single shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Michigan has administered nearly 8 million vaccines to date. 55.6% of Michiganders have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 43% 16 and older are fully vaccinated. More than 900 residents 12 to 15 have received the Pfizer vaccine since its emergency use authorization for this age group earlier this week.
"We have all been working incredibly hard toward getting back to some sense of normalcy," Whitmer said. "And today's news makes it all worthwhile."
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