Governor Ralph Northam changed Virginia's mask guidance to allow vaccinated people to go without face coverings last week. But it's still up to businesses if - and how - to check if customers are vaccinated.
Margaret Riley, a professor at the University of Virginia Schools of Law, Medicine, and Public Policy, says businesses have a fair amount of leeway in how they can check if customers are vaccinated.
“As long as they're not engaging in discriminating behavior, they can actually determine who gets to come into their business,” she said. “They could require for example, proof of vaccination.”
For employees, federal guidance becomes more complicated because the vaccine has emergency use authorization, not full approval.
“The current guidance from the federal government actually says that in the context of employment, you can require vaccination, but you cannot require medical proof of vaccination,” Riley said.
These two loopholes create a situation in which individuals need to gauge their comfort level going into certain businesses and groups of people.
“Every business and, in fact, every individual is going to be in a position that they have to make risk determinations on their own,” said Riley.
“I think we're going to see people who, even as mass mandates are revoked, they're going to find themselves very uncomfortable not wearing a mask,” she said. “Other people are going to push the envelope and really try to get in there before other people feel comfortable. And so that's going to cause a fair amount of strife.”
More rollbacks in Covid-19 mitigation measures are coming on May 28th, when capacity limits are lifted.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
