When federal health officials said Thursday that fully vaccinated Americans no longer needed to wear masks in most places, it came as a surprise to many people in public health. It also was a stark contrast with the views of a large majority of epidemiologists surveyed in the last two weeks by The New York Times.

In the informal survey, 80% said they thought Americans would need to wear masks in public indoor spaces for at least another year. Just 5% said people would be able to stop wearing masks indoors by this summer.

In large crowds outdoors, like at a concert or protest, 88% of the epidemiologists said it was necessary for even fully vaccinated people to wear masks.