National Nurses United, the largest registered union of US nurses has condemned the CDC's recent announcement saying fully vaccinated people can drop off the masks in most of the settings.

“This newest CDC guidance is not based on science, does not protect public health, and threatens the lives of patients, nurses, and other frontline workers across the country,” the union's Executive Director Bonnie Castillo said in a statement. “Now is not the time to relax protective measures, and we are outraged that the CDC has done just that while we are still in the midst of the deadliest pandemic in a century.” 

NNU president Jean Ross said that the CDC might have fallen short in understanding how the virus is spread and transmitted. “If the CDC had fully recognized the science on how this deadly virus is transmitted, this new guidance would never have been issued,” Ross said.

The union called on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue emergency temporary standards (ETS) on infectious diseases “without delay.” 

“If OSHA does not issue a Covid ETS immediately, we will undoubtedly see more unnecessary, preventable infections and deaths, as well as long Covid cases among nurses and other frontline workers,” said NNU President Zenei Triunfo-Cortez,