LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nearly two weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said vaccinated people should feel comfortable without a mask, not all Kentuckians are ready to leave their face coverings behind.

What You Need To Know

  • The CDC relaxed masking guidelines this month

  • Some vaccinated people are still wearing masks in public though

  • One Kentuckian said she’s masking out of concern for her children

  • A Louisville doctor said people should be understanding of others who may want to keep wearing masks

“I think I'm going to probably wear one until they say we've reached herd immunity in our state,” said Patty Haertel of Versailles.

The 67-year-old has grandchildren under the age of five. She said she continues wearing a mask to protect them from those who may refuse to be vaccinated.

In recent days though, she said she’s begun to feel like an outlier. “I noticed yesterday people were staring at me because I still had my mask on,” she said. 

Haertel is hardly alone. In one poll conducted in the days after the CDC’s new guidance, a third of vaccinated respondents said they’re still wearing masks when outside in an attempt to protect themselves and their loved ones from COVID-19.

Haertel said she knows none of the vaccines are 100% effective, meaning the possibility of her contracting COVID-19 still exists. “I would rather be safe than sorry,” she said. 

Jaelithe Lindblom, who expressed concern about the COVID-19 variants, is also still wearing a mask. She's the mother of a 12-year-old, who has received their first vaccine dose, and an 8-year-old, who is not yet eligible for vaccination. Lindblom said she could see herself going maskless after her children are fully vaccinated.

“I'm not going to feel completely comfortable until that happens,” she said. 

That’s a cautious approach. CDC guidance said that vaccinated people can resume most activities without a mask, whether they have children or not. And evidence suggests that in the extremely rare cases when vaccinated people do contract COVID-19, they are not likely to spread it.

Still, some parents may find that masking helps them set a good example for their children, said Dr. Kris Bryant, a pediatric infectious diseases physician with Norton Children's and the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

“If children are in public and in a situation where they need to wear a mask, it's probable that they're going to feel more comfortable if the adults with them are wearing a mask, too,” she said.

Feeling comfortable could also be the reason some adults choose to remain masked in a state where fewer than half of all people have been vaccinated. 

“Some people may be carefully weighing risks and benefits and saying, ‘If I'm going out and it's crowded, I may be very likely to come into contact with an unvaccinated person. I know the vaccine protects me but no vaccine is 100%. I want the extra measure of protection that the mask provides,’’ Bryant said.

There are currently just over two million Kentuckians vaccinated against COVID-19 — that's 45% of the state. Fifty-six percent of the state's adult population is vaccinated. 

Both Haertel and Lindblom said they see no downside of wearing a mask, other than foggy glasses. And Lindblom said even when she begins to relax her mask wearing, she may keep one handy for flu season or when she travels. 

 “I can see myself doing it on a plane,” she said. 

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