Should states reopen when more people get vaccinated? By: Katlyn Roberts As more people are getting vaccines, the question on the table is if states should reopen. Many states are already beginning to open. W. Va. is at 100% capacity as of now. As WV isn’t the only state like this, many people are wondering if this is the start of more and more states reopening. I feel like as more people are able to get vaccinated, states will begin to slowly reopen. In my opinion, I feel like it will be a good idea to open capacity. However, I feel like the mask mandate should still be in place until’ covid numbers keep decreasing.

Many people may have different opinions about the states reopening. Some people think that we should still stay completely closed, while others are ready for things to start opening. Many people are just kind of tired of being in quarantine and are ready for everything to open, even if the world isn’t ready. My roommate, Emily Truex, a student that lives on the WLU campus, says that “I think things should start to open. I think they should do it slowly, however.” I honestly do agree with her, as I feel like things can slowly begin to reopen. If we all continue to use the regulations when we open 100%, things could go smoothly.

Over ten states have removed their masks mandate and are completely reopened. There are also no stay-at-home orders anymore either. In all states, businesses have mostly reopened completely, too. West Virginia has also begun to allow weddings, parades, and other outdoor events. Personally, I feel like it could be a little too soon to open things completely and take away the mask mandates. I think the mask mandate should be in place for a few more months until the numbers of cases are 0 or at least under 10. I don’t think it’s smart to start opening immediately when cases could spike back up any minute.

I feel like as people continue to get vaccines, however, fewer people will be able to contract the virus. We could go back to our “normal” lives sooner. As I don’t think the vaccine should be mandatory yet, unless we have to get to that point, I would encourage people to get it if it is available to them. I think if the vaccine is available to more people, and those people receive it, covid could start eliminating in America as it has in other countries. I do think that the vaccine could be very beneficial to us as a whole country and could get us to not have the restrictions in place anymore. I do think that as more people continue to get the vaccine, states should slowly start to reopen. For any questions regarding this article, please reach out to Katlyn Roberts at [email protected]