National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union of registered nurses in the United States, applauded new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance stating that fully vaccinated people should resume wearing masks in public, indoor settings in areas of the country with substantial or high transmission.
NNU also reiterated its position that masking should be universal, in all settings, for all people, regardless of vaccination status.
“As registered nurses, we always course correct when a care plan for our patient must be adjusted in order to promote optimal healing. We applaud the CDC for adjusting its care plan for this country by recommending a partial return to indoor masking for vaccinated people,” said NNU Executive Director Bonnie Castillo. “A fundamental tenet of public health is that our health is interconnected and we all must work together to control this pandemic. The Delta variant is increasingly showing us that vaccinated people can become infected and spread the virus, so this new guidance will help us all protect one another – and it will save lives. But, because we all must be responsible for one another, the CDC should take the next logical step and urge indoor masking everywhere in the country.”
NNU also commended a second part of the CDC’s new guidance, stating that if people have been exposed to someone who has Covid-19, they should get tested three to five days after exposure, even while asymptomatic; wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure (or until they test negative); and isolate for 10 days if they test positive.