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“Follow the science” was a proper clarion call last year, and that’s what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did last week when advising that people who have been fully vaccinated do not have to wear masks in most situations. The science shows that vaccines are working. But the CDC announcement raises another question: How do we know who has been vaccinated and who has not? It’s time to begin making plans to sort this out. (5/19)

In Rob Reiner’s 1987 cult comedy, The Princess Bride, Fezzik asks the mysterious man in black a question as they scuffle atop the Cliffs of Insanity: “Why do you wear a mask? Were you burned by acid or something like that?” “Oh no,” replies the masked stranger, secretly a humble stable boy. “It’s just that they’re terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future.” (Dana Stevens, 5/19)

India reported that 4,529 people had died from Covid-19 on Tuesday alone. That’s the highest official daily death count for any country since the beginning of the pandemic, and the real toll is thought to be even higher. More than 25 million cases of infection have been recorded there to date. Given the scale of the crisis, it’s imperative that the Indian government vaccinate its people and stave off future waves of infection. But this unequivocal need also spells dire consequences for other countries that rely on vaccines produced in India. (Prashant Yadav, 5/20)

One can hardly blame people for being worried about the new Covid-19 vaccines when there are so many anecdotal reports of weird side effects — including women experiencing disturbing changes in their menstrual cycles. Reports of early and unusually heavy periods or other irregularities were becoming so common earlier this spring that University of Illinois anthropologist Kate Clancy started collecting them. People may wonder, rightly, why this isn’t being studied in a more systematic way. If something this unexpected can happen, then what else? (Faye Flam, 5/19)

The staff at Scientific American are mostly—if not completely—vaccinated against COVID-19, and we’re grateful and relieved. An enormous amount of evidence shows that we are almost entirely protected from severe illness or dying of COVID, and more coming out all the time shows that we’re highly unlikely to pass the virus along to other people. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s safe for us to stop wearing masks in most situations. But it’s not that simple. Here’s when, where and why some of us are still wearing masks—and when we’re comfortable going without. (5/19)

For more than a year, we’ve been trained to follow the science on COVID-19 transmission: Stay 6 feet apart, wash your hands, wear a mask. So now that science from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates we can drop masks if we’re vaccinated, we should expect to move through our daily lives maskless in most settings — and without side-eye. If you’re vaccinated, the science says you can’t spread the disease, and the chances of getting sick are extremely low. (5/19)