of this virus" as long as community transmission exists. unbeknownst to the panel, the cdc was already finalizing new guidance, which would be publicly announced two days later. cdc drops mask recommendations for the fully-vaccinated on may 13, 2021, the cdc announced new guidance, stating that those who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask or practice social distancing, unless otherwise required by health orders or private entities (such as on all public transportation, and where mandates still exist). in a briefing discussing the change, biden emphasized that the country still had to work towards its goal of having 70% of its adult population receive at least one vaccine dose by independence day, but felt that those who have been fully vaccinated had "earned the right to do something that americans are known for all around the world — greeting others with a smile." he also asked americans to respect the decisions of those who may still wear masks as a personal decision; "we have had too much conflict, too much bitterness, too much anger, too much politicization of this issue about wearing masks. let's put it to rest." the white house and other federal departments began to implement the new guidance for their staff over the days that followed. the abruptness of the announcement caught many state and local health officials, as well as some federal employees, off-guard. citing the new guidance, many states allowed their mask mandates to expire, while costco and walmart also announced that, where allowed, they would exempt vaccinated individuals from their corporate mask mandates. the new guidance faced criticism for being premature and largely relying on an honor system, as it would be difficult to determine whether someone is fully vaccinated without documentation, only around 36% of americans had been fully vaccinated at that point, and loosening guidance on masks would encourage complacency by those who are against masks and/or vaccines (who could falsely claim that they were vaccinated). the federal government had ruled out implementing a national framework for immunity passports due to human rights and privacy concerns, while multiple states have prohibited them outright. in an interview with fox news sunday, walensky denied that the cdc had bowed to political pressure to loosen restrictions, and stated that the new guidance was based on evolving science and newly obtained data, including studies on the real-world effectiveness of the vaccines in the u.s., and another study showing a reduction in viral load among patients that had still contracted covid-19 after being vaccinated. others felt that the announcement was an attempt by the biden administration to distract from the colonial pipeline cyberattack and the israel–palestine conflict. a white house spokesperson stated that the decision had been made solely by the cdc, as part of its current mandate under the biden administration to operate "based on the science and data, free from political influence". on may 20, amid an increasing number of states lifting their mask mandates entirely due to the guidance, fauci told axios that he thought many americans were misinterpreting the guidance, stating that " said: if you are vaccinated, you can feel safe — that you will not get infected either outdoors or indoors. it did not explicitly say that unvaccinated people should abandon their masks." reinstatement of mask recommendations and mandates on june 30, 2021, the los angeles county department of public health (ladph) reintroduced a strong recommendation that all residents wear face masks within indoor public spaces, even if they are vaccinated. the recommendation came only 15 days after california had lifted its remaining public health orders and mask mandate; officials stated that the recommendation was issued due to increasing spread of the highly-contagious delta variant in the region, and due to the department investigating reports of breakthrough infections in israel that involved delta variant. on july 15, ladph announced that it would reintroduce a mask mandate effective at midnight on july 18. this applies to all indoor public spaces in los angeles county, even if vaccinated. county health officer muntu davis stated that "we’re not where we need to be for the millions at risk of infection here in los angeles county, and waiting to do something will be too late given what we're seeing now." on july 25, fauci stated in an interview that the u.s. was heading in the "wrong direction" due to delta variant and low vaccination numbers in parts of the country, and that the cdc was "actively considering" revising its guidance. by july 26, several other areas had also reintroduced mask mandates regardless of vaccination, including provincetown, massachusetts, savannah, georgia, st. louis county, missouri, and clark county, nevada for all public-facing employees of businesses. the next day, citing delta variant and the possibility that it can be spread easily even by those who are vaccinated, the cdc issued new guidance recommending that in regions where there is "substantial and high transmission" of covid-19, face masks should be worn within indoor public spaces even if vaccinated. the cdc also recommended that masks be mandated at schools for all students and faculty, again regardless of vaccination status (for those approved to receive them). press secretary jen psaki stated that "we are dealing with a much different strain of this virus than we were even earlier in the spring, back in may, when the masking guidance was provided by the cdc at that time." 2022 in late-2021 and early-2022, the cdc extended the public transportation mask mandate through may 3 to give themselves time to study the highly-transmissible omicron variant and its effects. on february 25, 2022, the cdc changed the metrics it used to determine covid-19 risk by county, with weight placed on hospitalizations over case counts, and factoring in the availability of vaccines, treatments, and improved testing options. per these new metrics, the cdc stated 70% of the country no longer had "substantial and high transmission" of covid-19, and that residents of these areas, regardless of vaccination status, no longer necessarily needed to wear face masks in public spaces or schools (although still recommending their use by those at higher risk). by april 2022, general mask mandates had been lifted in all u.s. states, with hawaii being the only state still mandating masks in schools. on april 18, 2022, a week after the cdc's extension of the public transportation mask mandate through may 3, judge kathryn kimball mizelle of the district court for the middle district of florida, struck down the mandate as unlawful in a lawsuit brought by an advocacy group, almost immediately ending its enforcement by nearly all public transport agencies nationwide. mizelle stated that the mandate exceeded the statutory authority of the cdc, and also violated the administrative procedure act, as the mandate was made in an arbitrary and capricious manner. the united states department of justice announced on april 20 that it would be appealing the ruling, after the cdc deemed the mandate was still necessary. federal policy calls for federal policies the united states department of health and human services organized a program known as "project: america strong", to fund the distribution of reusable masks to "critical infrastructure sectors, companies, healthcare facilities, and faith-based and community organizations." there were calls for a mask mandate to be implemented nationwide at the federal level: the retail industry leaders association criticized the patchwork of differing regulations (or lack thereof) between regions, and argued that "despite compliance from the majority of americans, retailers are alarmed with the instances of hostility and violence front-line employees are experiencing by a vocal minority of customers who are under the misguided impression that wearing a mask is a violation of their civil liberties." goldman sachs projected that such a mandate "could potentially substitute for lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5% from gdp." the public health service act grants the secretary of the department of health and human services authority to implement regulations to "prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases" into u.s. states or possessions, but it is unclear whether this could be used to implement a general mask mandate. on june 28, house speaker pelosi stated that such a mandate was "long overdue", but that the cdc did not issue one as to not "offend the president." on july 1, trump questioned the appropriateness of a national mandate since they would apply in "places in the country where people stay very long distance." on july 5, white house chief of staff mark meadows stated that a national mandate was "not in order", arguing that masks were " on a location basis when you can't have social distancing". on july 12, surgeon general adams similarly argued that "if we are going to have a mask mandate we need to understand that works best at the local and state level along with education", and questioned if a national order could be reasonably enforced without "having a situation where you're giving people one more reason to arrest a black man." on july 12, surgeon general adams stated that health officials were trying to "correct" their previous messaging, explaining that it was based on an earlier presumption that those who were asymptomatic were less likely to transmit covid-19. he explained that americans needed "to understand we follow the science and when we learn more our recommendations change, but it is hard when people are continuing to talk about things from three, four months ago"; a clip of the aforementioned 60 minutes interview with fauci (where he was quoted as saying "there's no reason to be walking around with a mask") had often been presented on social media by opponents of face masks as misinformation in support of their arguments. fauci's statements were consistent with the cdc's guidance at the time, but did not align with current guidance. on july 14, the house committee on appropriations adopted an amendment to its transportation, housing and urban development, and related agencies funding bill for fiscal year 2021, which would include a mandate for passengers and employees of air travel, amtrak, and "large transit agencies" to wear masks. the bill was scheduled to be voted on by the house of representatives later in the month. the same day, the cdc published a study indicating that the use of masks by two employees of a missouri hair salon who showed covid-19 symptoms and later tested positive, as well as the 139 clients they served before their positive tests, "was likely a contributing factor" in preventing their clients from contracting covid-19 from the employees. the journal of the american medical association (jama) also published an interview with cdc director redfield, where he estimated that the epidemic in the u.s. could be brought under control within four to eight weeks "if we could get everybody to wear a mask right now". on july 15, senator dianne feinstein proposed that economic stimulus funding be withheld from states that do not adopt a health order requiring the wearing of masks in public. in a july 19 interview with fox news sunday, president trump stated that he did not intend to enact a federal mask mandate, citing the preservation of personal freedoms. on july 30, senator bernie sanders and representative of california ro khanna introduced the masks for all act, a proposed bill that would invoke the defense production act to produce "high-quality", reusable face masks for nationwide distribution at no charge (via mail distribution and public pickup locations), with a goal to give three masks each to every individual in the country, and a particular focus on serving the homeless and people who live in communal environments. the total cost of the bill was estimated to be $5 billion, with khanna noting that "if we can afford a $740 billion defense budget, we can afford to send every american a face mask, and if we’re asking folks to wear a mask, which is absolutely essential, it’s on us to provide one." on july 31, peter defazio and rick larsen introduced the healthy flights act, which would authorize the faa to mandate the wearing of face masks at airports and while on flights. during an august 2020 campaign appearance, democratic presidential nominee joe biden proposed a national mask mandate of at least three months as part of his platform, explaining that it could "save