AARP
Most states have dropped COVID-related restrictions; several put limits on vaccine mandates
En español | Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, governors and health departments across the country issued orders and recommendations on the status of schools, businesses and public services.
With the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020, the closures, capacity limits and large-scale mask orders that marked earlier phases of the pandemic gave way to vaccine and testing mandates and more targeted face-covering rules, which many states extended or reinstated as the delta and omicron variants spread in 2021 and 2022. As those waves receded, pandemic restrictions largely subsided as well.
Some states and local governments maintained vaccination or masking orders for public employees and health care workers into 2023, but almost all such mandates had lapsed by May 11, when the federal government’s COVID-19 public health emergency ended. Several states have barred or limited mask and vaccine orders and other requirements through legislation or executive action.
At the national level, President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring health care workers and federal executive branch employees to be vaccinated expired May 11. Another federal order that mandated masks on public modes of transportation, including commercial flights, and in transit hubs such as airports and bus and train stations, also ended May 11, but it had not been enforced for more than a year due to a court order.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule June 5 that formally ends vaccine or testing requirements for staff at long-term care facilities that participate in Medicare or Medicaid, effective Aug. 4.
There are no longer any states with general mask orders. A small number of state and local governments still require face-covering in certain high-risk settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes and shelters. Some states direct health care facilities to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance on mask use in medical settings. In most states, private businesses and venues may require masking or proof of vaccination as a condition for entry.
Here’s a look at each state’s vaccine, testing and mask requirements.
