[ad_1]
Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released a clarifying statement Friday evening after claiming in Fox News’ “special report” that the United States “is” considering “a possible mandate. nationwide vaccine.
It was the latest reversal for the health agency, which has drawn criticism for murky communications regarding the coronavirus and policies and recommendations related to the outbreak.
“To clarify,” Walensky wrote on Twitter, “There will be no mandate nationwide. I was referring to the mandates of private institutions and parts of the federal government. There will be no mandate. federal.”
Earlier on Friday, “Special Report” host Bret Baier asked Walensky: “Are you in favor of imposing a vaccine at the federal level?”
Walensky had replied, “This is something that I think the administration is looking into. It is something that I think we are looking to see vaccine approval for.
CDC DIRECTOR TELLS BRET BAIER GOVERNMENT ‘LOOKING AT’ POTENTIAL COVID-19 VACCINE MANDATE
“Overall, I think in general I am for more immunization. But I have nothing more to say about it except that we are looking at these policies.”
New York City officials on Wednesday criticized the CDC for failing to release scientific reports or other data to justify a change in the mask guidelines that the federal agency released on Tuesday.
US Representative Peter Meijer, R-Mich., Also criticized the CDC on Wednesday for its lack of transparency.
“I think a lot of the frustration comes from the overall uptake of the CDC guidelines which have changed based on what they cite as two unpublished studies that, due to being unpublished, cannot be viewed by no one else, ”Meijer said. The congressman also noted that the CDC was citing “a third Indian study based on delta transmissibility in people who received a non-US vaccine.”
“I think a lot of the frustration comes from the overall uptake of the CDC guidelines which have changed based on what they cite as two unpublished studies.”
US Representative Peter Meijer, R-Mich. (Associated press)
Following the criticism on Friday, the CDC released information it said informed its decision on the face coverings.
It included a study into a July 3 coronavirus outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in which more than 400 people were infected. The study found that three-quarters of people who contracted the virus had already been fully vaccinated, NPR reported.
STOCKS SLIP AS CDC REVERSE MASK RECOMMENDATIONS
The CDC said the discovery that fully vaccinated people could spread the virus prompted its decision on Tuesday to change its mask guidelines.
“This finding is concerning and was a crucial finding leading to the CDC’s updated mask recommendation. The masking recommendation has been updated to ensure that the vaccinated public would not unknowingly transmit the virus to others. , including their unvaccinated or immunocompromised relatives, ”Walensky said in a statement Friday. .
Ahead of the release of the data on Friday, the CDC’s communications on mask advice also drew criticism from CNN medical analyst Dr Jonathan Reiner of the New York Times and former Food Commissioner. and Drug Administration (FDA) Scott Gottlieb and journalist Glenn Greenwald.
“I think the advice is good, but I think their posts are awful,” Reiner said during an appearance on CNN.
“I think the advice is good, but I think their posts are horrible.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The New York Times had called the CDC’s message “confusing” and wrote that the agency had “both a polarization problem and a communication problem.”
“You know there’s a problem,” Greenwald said, when “authority-worshiping CNN starts to notice and say the CDC’s manic changes in direction don’t seem to make sense.”
Walensky, 52, became the 19th CDC director on January 20, when the Biden administration took office. Previously, she was head of the infectious disease team at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a professor at Harvard Medical School.
His appointment to the CDC did not require the approval of the US Senate.
Fox News’ Charles Creitz, Tyler Olson and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this story.
[ad_2]
Source link