Rettke: Feeling anxious about the new CDC guidance on mask changes? Me, too. Let’s be patient with each other

Earlier this week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance which I’m sure many of you have been long awaiting: masks, that literal in-your-face reminder of the plight we’ve all faced for a year and a half, were no longer required in some places, as long as you’re fully vaccinated.

I’m not ashamed to admit that new declaration left me feeling pretty anxious. As of Friday, fewer than a third (30.83%) of DeKalb County’s population of roughly 104,000 is fully vaccinated. That’s nowhere near that elusive herd immunity we’ve been hearing preached for a year.

Certain retailers spent the next 24 hours issuing announcements of their own: Some, such as Walmart, announced it would no longer require employees or customers who are fully vaccinated (double-dosed and two weeks out from your last shot) to wear masks or face-coverings indoors. Others, such as CVS, Home Depot, Macy’s and supermarket giant Kroger Co., announced the stores will keep the mandates going until further notice.

I’m not a health expert, nor a scientist, and I’ve spent this pandemic doing what my biologist mother taught me: trusting the science, the facts, the research and those who know better than me. I’m wary, however, with the majority of our communities still with populations of un-vaccinated higher than those who’ve so far chosen to get the vaccine, that inviting people to take their masks off is a slippery slope. And there are still those, young kids age 11 or younger, unable to get the vaccine even if they or their parents want them to.

And while I fight hard to remain optimistic that people’s good intentions will win out in the end, how will we know those who are gathered with us inside in public places are also fully vaccinated?

Our cases are at the lowest they’ve been in months, and yet I’m still feeling anxious. Why? It’s been a long trek, the severity of the virus, the way it spread rapidly and viciously through our communities, how we learned more over time, including that it’s airborne and covering our nose and mouth was proven to slow and impede its ability to move from person to person. All of that was certain, and we know that masking works.

I’m wary in part, I think, because we’re still at the low end of the vaccine rollout.

Let’s talk numbers. I don’t want to be all Debbie Downer here, and a perk to being a largely self-aware person with anxiety is that I try and check my fears with facts. Here’s what we know:

As of Friday, there have been 72,488 doses of vaccine administered to DeKalb County residents. Our fully vaccinated number is less than half of that. (I’m sure many await a second dose as we speak, great!)

For the first time since nearly the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020, DeKalb County recorded one day this week with single-digit new cases: Three were reported Wednesday. That’s a drastic step in a trajectory of low case counts we continue to see since the vaccine arrived in our community, which is huge. That milestone should not be undervalued. It’s a big step.

Also this week, the US. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine for those as young as 12, and while our teenagers are limited to just the Pfizer vaccine, this is, again, a huge step. Once the youth population is vaccinated, this does wonders for the promise of a more stable 2021-2022 school year, more normal seasons for our high school athletes, and maybe a little bit more safety nets for our educators.

These numbers are well-earned, hard-fought on this tragic road we’ve endured for a year and a half. But our vaccine numbers still need to be higher before we can nix the masks all together.

According to Illinois Department of Public Health data reported this past Monday, May 10, 30,620 DeKalb County residents, or 29.4% of our population, were fully vaccinated. Compared to previous weeks, that number didn’t change very much in the days which followed. As of Friday, our fully vaccinated population was reported at 32,108, or 30.83%. That’s 1,488 this week.

At its peak, according to IDPH data reported April 23, DeKalb County at one point administered 1,988 vaccine doses in a 24-hour period. Yes, we’ve been able to reach nearly a third of our population fully vaccinated, but if you look at the seven-day average of doses administered, our trajectory and the rate at which we’re administering to locals, has long since peaked.

We need to keep up the pace, and I’m hopeful the opening up of the 12 and older population will aid that end. During that same week of April 23, DeKalb County reported a seven-day average of 968 vaccine doses administered. Our current weekly average is 462.

We still have a long ways to go – roughly 70% of our countywide population is not fully vaccinated. Perhaps they’ve received a first dose and are awaiting a second. That’s a real possibility and a good one in which I place my hope.

But until our vaccine rate picks up – and remember that attaining a vaccine has never been easier, as walk-ins are abundant now and open to all, as long as you meet the age requirements – I think we should continue to be vigilant about mask-wearing. It still is the simplest way to limit viral spread.

Or, perhaps the easier alternative, be kind to those who will continue to still wear one. Let’s let those for whom the change of status-quo may come a little harder, take all the time they need to feel comfortable and safe again. We are not out of the woods yet. Mask-wearing despite the lifted mandates could mean a number of things: maybe that person has lost someone this past year, endured something personal, has a compromised immune system which comes with its own questions over the vaccine’s effectiveness, can’t get the vaccine for whatever reason, or perhaps they’re, like myself, still a little anxious about this whole situation.

Let’s be kind to each other in the days ahead, patient and accepting, and take heart that perhaps this is the much needed step towards an end to this pandemic.