The CDC shouldn’t have removed restrictions without requiring proof of vaccination

The CDC has gone from one extreme to the other, from over-caution to throwing caution to the wind. Its new guidance could have been exactly what we needed to encourage vaccination, but it skipped a key step. It should be revised to say that fully vaccinated people should have no restrictions on their public activities if vaccination status can be verified. That means stores, theaters and restaurants can be at full capacity, without masks, if they check vaccination status. The CDC should also set a level of community vaccination, at which point they can do away with this step — for example, if 70 percent of a community is vaccinated, everyone can take off their masks, vaccinated or not.