The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eased its recommendations for mask use, even in schools, on Friday. The new guidelines no longer focus on the rate of coronavirus transmission, but on monitoring hospital admissions, hospital beds coverage and infection rates.
Until yesterday, only 5% of US counties met the CDC’s criterion of lifting the mandatory mask mask indoors, with the remaining 95% designated as high-risk areas.
“We are in a stronger position today as a country, with more tools to protect ourselves and our community from Covid-19,” CDC Director Rochelle Wallenski told a news conference, noting the availability of vaccines, their accessibility. population in virus detection tests, the availability of highly protective masks and access to new therapies. “Thanks to the broad immunity of the population, the overall risk of serious disease is now generally lower,” he said.
The revision of the recommendations comes as the outbreak of the Omicron variant appears to be receding substantially in the US and states such as New Jersey are announcing plans to lift the mandatory mask mask indoors, such as in schools and other public facilities.
With the new guidelines, there are three categories – low, medium and high risk – based on the availability of hospital beds and the number of Covid-19 cases.
CDCs advise residents of “moderate” areas who are at increased risk of complications from the disease (eg immunosuppressed) to consult their doctors about whether to wear a mask.
With the pandemic now in its third year, many Americans are tired of wearing masks.
In addition, studies have shown that for vaccinated people, Omicron variant infections were less severe and less likely to cause hospitalization or death compared to previous coronavirus variants.
Travelers will still need a mask on planes, trains and buses, as well as at airports and train stations. These requirements are valid until March 18 and the CDC will review them in the coming weeks, Walensky said.
The new guidelines apply to both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.
Dr Ames Antalya, an infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the changes made sense given the high rate of virus transmission in the United States, but hospitalizations for patients with Covid-19 remained low. “Focusing on the availability of hospital beds is a much better criterion and has always been our main concern,” he said.
According to the CDC, the use of masks in schools will now only be recommended in communities designated as “high risk” for Covid-19, in contrast to what has been the case to date (s.s. in the community).
“We have to be flexible and be able to say that we need to relax the precautionary measures when things are going well,” Waleski said. coronavirus) and increase cases “.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been criticized for changing its attitude toward mask use. Last spring, Wallensky told vaccinated Americans that it was safe to remove the masks indoors in areas with a low rate of transmission, but he backed down a few months later when it became clear that even fully vaccinated people could transmit the virus.
Just last month, in an interview with Reuters, Wallensky said “now is not the time” for school masks to be removed after authorities in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, California and Oregon said that they planned to lift the measure on compulsory mask use in schools and other enclosed spaces.
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