The new phase of the country’s COVID-19 response, easing pandemic restrictions, is once again drawing attention to those most vulnerable to the coronavirus as states and the Biden administration adopt more relaxed, endemic-focused guidelines.
But this time the debate around protecting immunocompromised and elderly patients is more nuanced than it was in earlier phases. Some advocates are raising concerns about ongoing risks, but others are ready to move on from a life on lockdown.
Attitudes toward mask and vaccine mandates have pivoted in recent weeks among Democratic officials, who remained the core backers of mitigation techniques long after they receded from favor among many Republican state officials.
