“We spent a year trying very hard to get people to wear masks,” said Seeger. “This kind of sudden abrupt change, without any kind of signaling that it’s coming, will leave people feeling blindsided.” Another blind spot for the CDC was that the guidance was aimed at vaccinated people — but unvaccinated people could leave with the same takeaway. Population-specific recommendations might work for the agency’s announcements aimed at medical professionals, Cohen said, “But changes in [pandemic] guidance are going to be viewed by everyone, vaccinated or not, and they are going to be asking ‘what does it mean for me?’” People who feel like their situation isn’t addressed, like parents with unvaccinated children or bar owners, may end up feeling slighted... The move is especially confusing, said Seeger, because the agency’s own guidance, some of which he helped write, has repeatedly stressed the importance of shaping health messages as policies are made, not coming up with a policy first and then the public communications afterward. “One thing I will say is CDC’s credibility has been damaged here, which is a very sad thing to say and I say it very reluctantly. But their ability to be persuasive has been reduced,” said Seeger. “This felt abrupt and not fully grounded in the reality that many people experience.”