CDC Director addresses COVID-19 mask mandate rumors.
The CDC Responds to Speculation on COVID-19 Mask Mandates and Lockdowns
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) responded to speculation that COVID-19-related mask mandates or lockdowns could return, coming after the agency recommended new vaccine boosters for nearly all Americans.
A reporter with WCNC asked CDC Director Mandy Cohen on Tuesday that some people may be concerned that the agency might recommend lockdowns, masking, or mandates, and they may be “worrying if we’re going to be ever backsliding or revisiting lockdowns and stuff like that.” She asked the director if she feels “pretty confident we won’t be seeing widespread, sweeping school closures, etc., that sort of thing?”
In response, Mrs. Cohen said that the federal government and CDC have “all the tools we need to keep this virus at bay, if we use the vaccines and we use testing and treatment.”
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“Right now, what I see is I don’t see any need for mandates or those kinds of things right now. But we have to keep watching this virus, seeing how it changes, and if we need to make other recommendations, we will,” the CDC head added, adding that the virus “could change” and that “something could come out of left field.”
Her comment comes as the CDC issued a recommendation that people should receive the updated COVID-19 booster shot that targets the XBB1.5 sub-variant. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration similarly authorized and approved the new mRNA-based shots, made by Pfizer and Moderna.
Meanwhile, since mid-August, there has been widespread speculation that the CDC and other federal agencies may attempt to recommend or push lockdowns, vaccine mandates, or masking mandates in the midst of a small upswing in COVID-19 cases across the United States. A small number of schools, colleges, hospitals, and private businesses have implemented masking mandates, sparking alarm among some GOP elected officials and candidates.
Several weeks ago, meanwhile, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) told The Epoch Times that claims the agency held discussions that it would be re-implementing mandates or lockdowns are incorrect. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the CDC told The Associated Press around the same time that reports of pending lockdowns are “utterly false.”
When asked by The Epoch Times about discussions around a possible federal mask mandate recommendation, a spokesperson said late last month that COVID-19 hospital admission levels “are currently low for 96 percent” of the United States. A separate spokesperson told other outlets that there were no agency discussions about bringing mask mandates back, while no new masking guidelines have been issued on the CDC’s website in recent days.
The CDC in January 2021 issued an order that required people to wear masks on public transportation, including planes and inside transportation hubs. A federal judge struck down the rule a year later, allowing companies to switch to a mask-optional policy.
Ms. Cohen also was asked by a PBS reporter about COVID-19 cases being reported at schools and asked whether schools and workplaces should “take those steps” to implement mask rules.
While she did not explicitly recommend mask mandates at some schools or businesses, the CDC director claimed that wearing a mask could protect against COVID-19. A range of studies over the years have shown that masks may not be effective in preventing transmission of the virus, but some studies cited by the CDC on its website say that they can block transmission.
“Testing and treatment is an important tool, and, of course, as you mentioned, washing your hands, wearing a mask when there’s more circulating virus, staying home when you’re sick, improving ventilation,” Mrs. Cohen said in response to the reporter’s question. “These are all layers of tools that we can use to protect ourselve[s]. We’re in a better place than we’ve ever been to be able to do that. We just need to use these tools.”
Earlier this month, a school in Montgomery County, Maryland, controversially issued a mask mandate for a kindergarten class after several students tested positive for the virus. In August, a school in Alabama also made masking a requirement amid what it said was an increase in cases.
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