Following the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott announced Friday that residents in the state who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need to wear a mask or socially distance.
While giving remarks on the “monumental moment,” Scott said that those who are fully vaccinated should go back to business as usual as the state begins phase 3 of its reopening plan.
WCAX out of Burlington, Vermont, reported that more than “70 percent of eligible Vermonters have now received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, meeting the state’s June 1 goals under the Vermont Forward reopening plan.”
Despite new guidelines from the CDC, Scott said he had planned to announce “something similar in the next few days anyways.” Under Scott’s plan a mask “recommendation” was set to be implemented ahead of Independence Day.
Discussing business decisions, Scott reiterated that he supports businesses who create their own sets of rules. Scott said:
I believe it’s not perfect, it’s not 100 percent, but I believe it worked well for Vermont, it fits us. I believe we’re going to live with that. We feel these businesses have the ability to create their own rules. Think about it in terms of no shirt, no shoes, no service.
Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont’s health commissioner, suggested that residents who have not been vaccinated do so and for employers to do “everything they can” to have their employees vaccinated, saying that requiring the vaccination is “just one pathway” to making sure that nearly all residents in the state receive the shot.
Vermont has had a mask mandate in place following the coronavirus pandemic since August 1, 2020.
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