The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there is “no problem” with fully vaccinated Americans continuing to wear face masks — despite the agency insisting it would always “follow the science” and being ripped for its already confusing messaging on face coverings.
During a White House coronavirus briefing Friday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky gave a puzzling answer when asked about people who may not be psychologically ready to go mask-free.
Instead of emphasizing the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines and standing by the CDC’s new guidance that Americans can ditch masks in almost all situations, the scientist gave some more mixed messaging.
“For 16 months we’ve been saying that it’s important to wear these masks to protect yourselves and now what we’re saying is it’s going to be hard to get back to life as we know it without these masks,” she said during the virtual briefing.
“We specifically have acknowledged that if you are vaccinated, there is no shame, no problem in continuing to wear your mask — and just like it has been hard to have everybody get masked, I think this is going to take some time for us all to get used to.”
Last week, the CDC released new guidance, saying that anyone who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can “participate in indoor and outdoor activities – large or small — without wearing a mask or physically distancing.”
But the guidance sparked confusion across the country — as some states refused to follow the advice, leaving residents and businesses unclear about what is and isn’t safe to do.
Still, Walensky insisted Friday that “the science said it was safe to do so” but “we also acknowledge that not everybody is going to feel like it’s time to rip off their masks.”
The nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, echoed his peer’s comments during the briefing, saying that the resistance to the idea of stopping masking up by some vaccinated people is “not irrational.”
“It’s understandable when you’re used to a certain type of behavior,” Fauci said, adding, “You can understand that when people have been following a certain trend for a considerable period of time that it may take time for them to adjust.”
To date, more than 160 million Americans, or 48.2 percent of the US population, have received at least one vaccine dose, while more than 126 million Americans, or 38.1 percent of the population, have been fully inoculated, according to the CDC.
The country’s current seven-day average of new coronavirus cases is down by 19 percent from the prior seven-day period at about 27,700 new cases per day, Walensky said, noting that it marks the second consecutive day when the seven-day average of new cases was less than 30,000.
“The last time the seven-day average of cases was this low was June 18, 2020,” she said.
The CDC chief also showed an encouraging graphic, visually emphasizing the stark progress the country has made in lowering transmission even just this year.
The first map of the country, dated January 2, 2021, is a sea of red, indicating high or sustained community transmission across the majority of the US — while the comparison map dated May 19, 2021, is mostly green, indicating low community transmission.
Meanwhile, the current seven-day average of nationwide COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped to about 3,400 — a decrease of almost 15 percent from the previous seven-day period, CDC data shows.
Coronavirus daily deaths in the US also continue to decline, with a current seven-day average of 498, according to the data.
“As each week passes and as we continue to see progress, these data give me hope,” Walensky said.
