As the United States rolls out COVID-19 vaccines at a staggering rate, some states might be lifting certain restrictions too early.

Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that Texas would lift the statewide mask mandate starting March 10th. According to ABC News,  Abbott claimed that mask mandates were no longer required as it was now up to personal responsibility to protect oneself. 

Abbott is not the only governor repealing mask mandates; Mississippi, Iowa, Montana, and Oklahoma have joined Texas in lifting their own mask mandates, citing the recent decline of deaths across the United States and the effectiveness of the multiple vaccines combatting COVID-19 as factors that are reducing the necessity for restrictions, according to CNBC. CNBC also reported that other states, including New York, New Jersey, and California, are also relaxing certain restrictions on things like restaurant or stadium capacities, but at a much slower, much more cautious rate.

Many officials in Texas have been left stumped and shocked by Abbott’s decision to repeal mask mandates. Dr. Joseph Varon, chief medical officer at Houston’s United Memorial Medical Center, urgently ordered more hospital staff and ventilators following Abbott’s announcement, according to ABC News. The Texas Tribune reported that three of Abbott’s four coronavirus medical advisers say they were not consulted before Abbott lifted restrictions. Texas state Senator Borris Miles tweeted that Abbott had “signed the death warrants of communities of color,” who have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

Health experts have been criticizing Texas and similar states’ decisions to repeal mask mandates while COVID-19 still rages across the country. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a public figurehead in fighting the spread of COVID-19 said that it is too early to declare victory against the virus: “When I hear pulling back completely on public health measures, saying no more masks, no nothing like that, that is risky business,” said Fauci. 

Dr. Fauci also spoke on the issue of potential surges due to new variants of the virus creating vaccination issues. “If you look at the numbers that have gone down, they’ve gone down so nicely in a very steep decline. But in the last couple of weeks, we’ve had a plateauing of infections. And the thing that concerns me, because history proves I should be concerned, is when you get a plateau around the level of 60,000 new infections per day, there is always a risk of another surge.”