Scott’s Column: Changing Protocols May 25, 2021 | COVID, News Welcome to the new normal. In the last few weeks the CDC has altered its Covid guidance, Covid cases are in sharp decline leading some to suggest we finally have the infection under control in the US, and today, May 25, is the last day of the mask mandate here in Omaha. Over the last five months as most of us adults have been vaccinated, we’ve experienced the joy (and sometimes the anxiety) of hugs, family gatherings, eating out again, and otherwise emerging from the restrictions of the last year. And with the summer months, changing protocols, and declines in cases, we seem to be heading into a new period. This coming Sunday at church masks will become optional, but we ask that if you are unvaccinated that you continue to wear one. First off, I ask you to go get vaccinated. It’s free and easy and as you can see from all your friends and the hundreds of millions of people globally who have been inoculated, this is a miracle of scientific achievement, one of the greatest achievements of our species in human history. Don’t miss out on the fun. Plus, if you aren’t vaccinated, you remain a possible vector of transmission, meaning you are putting other people at risk, not just yourself. And I can’t imagine most of you want that on your moral conscience. But, if you do remain unvaccinated and want to keep coming to church in person, then I ask that you wear your mask, and I’m asking as a parent. At the moment, our children under twelve cannot yet receive the vaccine. As long as the adults around them are vacccinated, then the children are well protected. But unvaccinated adults around them pose a health risk to the children. Continuing to wear a mask if you are unvaccinated helps to protect our kids. In the coming Sundays, I look forward to seeing your smiling, vaccinated faces for the first time in a long time. What great days ahead.
