Summit County's Top Public Health Official Encourages Mask Wearing For The Unvaccinated

Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday that the state is lifting the mask mandate for those who are vaccinated. But the top health official in Summit County said that doesn’t mean a complete end to mask wearing in her county.

Health Commissioner Donna Skoda emphasized that the new mandate only applies to those who are vaccinated. Those who are not are still at risk for contracting and spreading the virus, she said, noting that businesses have the right to mandate masks for that reason.

“When you’re in a grocery store or when you’re in a very large environment like that at a mall or something, you have no way of knowing who’s vaccinated and who’s not,” Skoda said. “The risk isn’t with the vaccinated people, it’s with all those folks who aren’t vaccinated that could become very ill.”

And fully vaccinated people still have both a 5 percent chance of getting COVID-19 and transmitting it, she said.

Skoda also emphasized the importance of getting a COVID-19 vaccine, especially for young people.

She says 70 to 75 percent of people 60 and older are vaccinated in Summit County but that isn’t the population being hospitalized for COVID-19 right now.

“Because COVID doesn’t really have a home with older people anymore, it’s moving into younger populations,” she said. “That’s why it’s critical that we get our children 12 — everyone 12 and older — vaccinated, so COVID doesn’t have a home there either.”

Currently the only vaccine approved for children ages 12 to 15 is from Pfizer, which is being offered at several sites across the county.

Copyright 2021 WKSU. To see more, visit WKSU.