Completely Confused About the New Face Mask Guidelines?

Americans have so many questions in regard to the new guidance on face masks and unfortunately, there aren't a lot of clear answers.

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On Sunday, May 16, the CDC updated its website regarding fully vaccinated people wearing or not wearing face masks. The CDC states that people who have been fully vaccinated and have waited the appropriate time following their final dose can resume living life just as they did before the pandemic, no mask or social distancing necessary.

On Thursday, May 13, President Biden said, "Therefore, if you’ve been fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask. Let me repeat: If you are fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask."

While the CDC and the President of the United States both say mask-wearing and social distancing is unnecessary for those who are fully vaccinated effectively immediately, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday, May 17, that the New York mask mandate would expire on Wednesday, May 19 for those who are vaccinated. However, "We are also going to follow the CDCs guidelines that you will still have to wear a mask on public transportation in the subways, buses, nursing homes, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, schools, health care facilities."

In Pennsylvania, Governor Wolf has stated that restrictions will end on Memorial Day weekend, but the mask mandate will remain in place until 70 percent of Pennsylvania residents aged 18 and older have been fully vaccinated.

When it comes to national chain stores, some such as Target, say shoppers who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask per the CDC guidelines, "Except where it’s required by local ordinances." How will these stores know whether or not a shopper has truly been fully vaccinated? Will shoppers have to show proof of full vaccination? There is no photo ID on a vaccination card. How will the store know whether a person who was not vaccinated "borrowed" a card from a friend who was?

What about stores such as Home Depot which says it will continue mandating its employees and shoppers to mask up? Does this apply to states where mask mandates have been fully lifted?

Also, even though the decision of whether or not to lift the mask mandate is being left up to state and local officials, doesn't the President of the United States supersede everyone since he's the highest leader?

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.