July 28, 2021- 3:05 p.m.
Doctors and politicians are slamming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over its new mask guidance, saying officials are simply panicking and causing Americans to question the effectiveness of vaccines.
On Tuesday, the federal health agency said it was recommending people who live in COVID-19 hot spots to wear masks in public indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status.
That all students and staff in K-12 schools do the same, which is a massive U-turn from its previous guidance issued two months ago.
While some physicians agree with the CDC’s measure, other public health experts and U.S. lawmakers said the new recommendations are premature, with one doctor saying vaccinated Americans will now have ’emotional whiplash’ because they got their shots as recommended, yet are now being told they still have to wear masks.
Republican leaders also blasted the CDC and the Biden administration, suggesting that the updated guidance is purely political and not based on science.
It comes as the UK – which has seen cases rise and decline four to six weeks ahead of the U.S. throughout the course of the pandemic – reports that a recent Covid surge caused by the Indian ‘Delta’ variant is waning.
Despite dropping most pandemic restrictions last week and predictions that the UK would see 100,000 cases a day, COVID-19 infections have falling for at least a week- which could mean that America’s own surge may soon be over too.
THE CDC’S EVOLVING GUIDANCE ON MASKS FOR AMERICANS (AND THEIR U-TURNS) March 2020:
- The CDC recommends that Americans do not wear masks – the agency feared civilians would horde existing supply of masks, exacerbating a PPE shortage
- March 8, 2020: Dr Anthony Fauci says during an appearance on CBS’s 60 Minutes: ‘There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask. When you’re in the middle of an outbreak, wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better and it might even block a droplet, but it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is.’
- April 3, 2020: CDC reverses decision, recommending Americans wear masks in public areas
- July 14, 2020: CDC reaffirms support for masks, publishes data showing masks prevent the spread of COVID
- December 11, 2020: Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine becomes first for COVID to receive FDA emergency use authorization
- April 27, 2021: CDC says fully vaccinated Americans do not have to wear masks outdoors
- May 13, 2021: CDC says those who are fully vaccinated do not have to wear masks indoors in most situations
- July 27, 2021: Agency reverses previous mask decision, recommending vaccinated people put masks back in hot spots amid surge of Delta variant
