Marist Lifts Mask Mandates
Source: Matthew Donohue '23
Marist College lifted their mask mandate in an email to students on Feb. 18, after the amount of cases in the Marist population resulted in a shift to COVID-19 Alert Level: GREEN. This switch, however, has raised concerns about whether it is too early to be mask optional.
The main goal throughout the pandemic has been to mitigate as much risk as possible and ultimately reduce the spread of the virus, so high-risk demographics could avoid getting seriously ill or dying. Doing so meant taking precautions like getting vaccinated, thorough handwashing, social distancing and of course, masking. After two years of taking these precautions, we are finally seeing some tangible results.
Marist has a 96.4% vaccination rate among faculty and students, which is 20% higher than New York state and 30% higher than the rest of the country, according to Our World in Data. As of early February, over 80% of the Marist community reported getting their boosters as well. According to a study done by John Hopkins University, people who are vaccinated and have been infected with the coronavirus have a stronger immunity to future infections than people who had just received the vaccine.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates 43% of the American population have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. This means that a sizable population at Marist has the extra protection from the antibodies, which will prevent the community from any future outbreaks.
The country is also approaching the 80% vaccination rate that is predicted to give us herd immunity, according to the New York Times.
Some medical experts and members of the Biden administration believe that local and state governments, and other institutions are lifting these mandates prematurely. However, the CDC recently updated its masking guidelines by creating three COVID-19 Community Levels: low, medium and high. These distinct levels come with different measures depending on the severity of the virus in a county.
Community Level Low suggests staying updated on the vaccines and to get tested if you are showing symptoms. Community Level Medium adds to these requirements by suggesting an individual check with a doctor if they are at severe risk of illness, in addition to taking extra precautions like wearing a mask. Community Level High finally adds that all people should wear masks indoors.
Dutchess County falls under the criteria for Community Level Low, meaning that students leaving campus are still at minimal risk of getting infected.
The protections we received, either from the vaccine, naturally or both, have helped us to prevent any future outbreaks, and therefore, we have outgrown our need for mask mandates. If people still feel uncomfortable in large crowds or crowded areas, they have every right to wear a mask and should feel comfortable doing so. But, our society at Marist and at large are at a point where, according to the CDC, people in counties with Community Level Low no longer need to wear masks, so we should not have to at Marist either.