More Stores Drop Mask Requirements For Vaccinated Patrons In WA

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last Thursday that fully-vaccinated store patrons should no longer be required to wear masks while shopping indoors. Washington state followed suit the same day, dropping the mask mandate and allowing stores to welcome back mass-free customers, provided those customers taken all doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and waited two weeks for full immunity to kick in.

While some stores, like Trader Joe's and PCC, immediately announced they were dropping their store policies requiring masks, many others adopted a wait-and-see approach, reviewing the guidance before making any drastic changes.

Now, the better part of a week has passed, and some of the country's biggest chains have decided to follow suit and allow customers without masks.

One of the biggest changes is Target, who had previously said it was planning to wait and re-evaluate the guidance as it impacts both employees and guests. Monday, the company said it now feels comfortable with maskless shopping.

"Given the CDC's updated guidance last week, Target will no longer require fully vaccinated guests and team members to wear face coverings in our stores, except where it's required by local ordinances," the retailer said. "Face coverings will continue to be strongly recommended for guests and team members who are not fully vaccinated and we'll continue our increased safety and cleaning measures, including social distancing, throughout our stores."

Other businesses that have changed their polices since last week include:

• CVS, who announced Monday that customers who are fully vaccinated are no longer required to wear face coverings inside its stores, unless local ordinance says otherwise.
• Costco's President and CEO Craig Jelinek said that stores have a revised policy in U.S locations with no state or local mask requirements. Fully vaccinated guests can enter Costco without a mask or face shield where state and local jurisdiction permit.
• Walmart, despite initially saying they would keep mask requirements Thursday, changed its mind Friday, sending a memo to employees saying the store would now welcome vaccinated customers to shop without a mask, USA TODAY reports. The store is also offering bonuses to employees who get vaccinated.
• Starbucks has updated its policy to say that "facial coverings will be optional for vaccinated customers beginning Monday, May 17, unless local regulations require them by law."

Other retailers and business associations in Washington have kept mask requirements:

• A spokesperson for Kroger told Patch that masks will still be required inside its stores while reviewing the CDC's latest guidance.
• Walgreens still requires face coverings at all stores.
• Home Depot has not updated its mask guidance since last week, when they remained required for all patrons regardless of vaccination status.

Concerns from experts and store employees

Though more and more large stores are adopting to allow for patrons to begin shopping without masks, not everyone is happy with the change.

Monday, the Infectious Diseases Society of America warned against companies issuing blanket nationwide policies on mask requirements, instead asking them to "base decisions on mask-wearing and physical distancing requirements on local transmission and vaccination data." They also warn that if vaccination rates do not increase "substantially" the CDC may have to implement stricter masking and social distancing policies once again.

Others have raised concerns that, with no real mechanism to ensure that customers have received their shots as required, and that unvaccinated patrons may abuse the change and endanger others. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), a union representing 1.3 million food and retail workers across the country, issued a statement last week saying the new CDC guidance doesn't recognize the challenges grocery and retail store employees will now face.

"While we all share the desire to return to a mask-free normal, today's CDC guidance is confusing and fails to consider how it will impact essential workers who face frequent exposure to individuals who are not vaccinated and refuse to wear masks," said UFCW International President Marc Perrone in a prepared statement. "Millions of Americans are doing the right thing and getting vaccinated, but essential workers are still forced to play mask police for shoppers who are unvaccinated and refuse to follow local COVID safety measures. Are they now supposed to become the vaccination police?"

The governor's guidance says stores can ask patrons for proof of vaccination before letting them shop maskless, but there are no plans to institute a state "vaccine passport" program.

Related: CDC Eases Indoor Mask Guidelines For Vaccinated

Patch's Ethan Duran contributed to this report.