Madison County won’t issue mask mandate for fully vaccinated at this time

WAMPSVILLE, N.Y. — Madison County officials say they’re not mandating that fully vaccinated residents wear masks, as the county’s transmission level is currently categorized as “moderate.”

The Madison County Board of Health and the Madison County Department of Health said they reviewed the recent recommendations on mask wearing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Given that the virus transmission level in Madison County and our region is moderate, and not at the high or substantial levels noted by the CDC, the CDC recommendations do not apply and we are therefore not mandating masks to be worn by fully vaccinated individuals. However, we do recognize that wearing a mask, even if you are fully vaccinated, provides additional protection, and we encourage this practice,” Madison County said in a statement.

More than 73 percent of the county’s adult population of those 18 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The county’s data indicates that 63 percent of its adults are fully vaccinated. About 50 percent of Madison County young people aged 12 to 18 have had at least one vaccine dose and both the adult and youth vaccination rates “continue to improve each week,” Madison County contended.