In other words, citizens have had enough of government dictating their lives, and even the NY Times has noticed

Americans Suffer Pandemic Whiplash as Leaders Struggle With Changing Virus

A week of public health reversals from the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has left Americans with pandemic whiplash, sowing confusion about coronavirus vaccines and mask-wearing as the Delta variant upends what people thought they knew about how to stay safe.

Vaccines remain effective and highly protective against hospitalization and death, even among those infected with the extremely contagious Delta variant. Mask-wearing prevents transmission of the virus to those most at risk.

But the crisis President Biden once thought he had under control is changing shape faster than the country can adapt. An evolving virus, new scientific discoveries, deep ideological divides and 18 months of ever-changing pandemic messaging have left Americans skeptical of public health advice. So although the White House had promised a “summer of joy,” the nation is instead caught in a summer of confusion.

“While we desperately want to be done with this pandemic, Covid-19 is clearly not done with us, and so our battle must last a little longer,” Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the C.D.C., told reporters on Monday. “This is hard. This is heavy. But we are in this together.”

We are? If so, why are the big shots so contradictory on their actions? Why do they tell us masks work (the don’t. China Joe’s top COVID advisor said the don’t, Fauci said the don’t, and the numbers say they don’t)

Another administration official said Mr. Biden would address the nation later this week — the second time in less than a week — to reiterate and clarify his main takeaway points: The vaccines are safe and effective. The reason even vaccinated people have to mask up again is that so many people are unvaccinated. So go get your shots and tell your friends and neighbors to do the same.

He should just let people read the message off the teleprompter, because he’ll sound like his typical dementia self.

But Dr. del Rio said the C.D.C. made a misstep in May when it told vaccinated Americans they did not need to wear masks — not because the science behind the recommendation was wrong, but because the move led everyone to doff their masks and prompted states, localities and retail businesses to abandon their mask requirements, which enabled the Delta variant to flourish.

Wait, the science says that vaccinated people do not need to wear masks? This is all Pandemic Theater? You know what would help? Tell people to social distance, wash their hands, don’t touch their face. And distance. And don’t touch each other. Masks make people think they can get close. Thin pieces of cloth that do virtually nothing.

Biden mask flip-flop could flush vaccine progress ‘down the drain,’ officials fear

The Biden administration’s rollout of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control’s latest mask guidance split senior officials into rival camps: those who encourage new action as the situation changes versus those worried about undermining the vaccines.

Multiple Biden administration officials expressed frustration to the Washington Examiner about media coverage the new guidance received, arguing it “exacerbated” the political debate about health policy.

Two officials noted the administration remains concerned about the rise of the delta variant and breakthrough infections but added those same studies prove the “vaccines work.”

It’s a mess. Their messaging is a pure mess. And, in fairness, a lot more people got vaccinated, but, that seems to be a lot of people who are doing it to not lose their jobs.