CDC director stands firm on mask advice, calls “individual choice” for vaccinated people to wear one

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sticking to their guidelines for now that only unvaccinated people should wear masks to be safe – and that vaccinated people can do without them, the director said Thursday. from the CDC, Rochelle Walensky, to reporters.

Walesnky’s comments follow reports in the “> Washington Post and CNN report that the Biden administration is considering another overhaul of masks in light of the rapidly spreading delta variant.

Walensky said “we always look at the data as it arrives”. But, she added, the CDC mask guidelines have not changed and that – for now – is not necessary.

“Fully vaccinated people are protected against serious illness, and we have always said that communities and individuals should make the decisions that are right for them based on what is happening in their area,” she said.

She later added: “In areas where vaccination rates are high and low … if you are not vaccinated you should definitely wear a mask. If you are vaccinated you have exceptional levels of protection against this vaccine. , and you can choose to add an extra layer of protection when putting on your mask and that’s a very individual choice. “

Jeff Zients, the White House coordinator on COVID-19, said any public health guidance was up to the CDC.

“We will follow the science,” he said.

Last May, the CDC stunned much of the country by suggesting that vaccinated people could go safely without masks inside, citing plenty of real evidence that people who are fully immune are unlikely to get sick and spread. the virus.

Since then, a new variant of the virus has spread rapidly through unvaccinated pockets of the United States, once again overwhelming healthcare workers who say victims of the delta variant are younger and sicker.

While health officials say vaccines still work against the variant and transmission is still considered less likely, the Biden administration has come under extraordinary pressure in recent weeks to consider doing more to curb outbreaks and protect children under 12 who are not eligible. vaccination.

Former surgeon general Jerome Adams has said he believes the CDC needs to back down due to the increased number of cases nationwide. In an opinion piece for the Post, Adams said he regrets not urging Americans to wear masks earlier in the pandemic – a move made to protect healthcare workers’ supplies – and believes that the CDC should learn from this mistake.

“Looking back, it is clear that the message many Americans have heard was that, vaccinated or not, the masks were gone for good,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, at least eight states have told schools they can’t enforce masks, including Florida, where GOP Governor Ron DeSantis said “there’s not a lot of science behind it. “.

Numerous studies have shown that masking is extraordinarily effective in preventing the spread of the virus in unvaccinated people when done consistently.

“We need our children to breathe. We need our children to be able to be children. We need them to be able to breathe,” DeSantis said at a press conference Thursday.

President Joe Biden caused confusion on Wednesday night when he told a CNN town hall that he expected the CDC to issue new mask guidelines that all people under the age of 12 should wear masks in schools.

The CDC previously issued this directive on July 9, which calls on all unvaccinated staff and students to wear masks. Children under 12 are not eligible for the vaccine.

When asked what internal discussions were underway regarding the masks, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was vague.

“It would be of more concern – or should be of more concern to all of you and the American people if we didn’t have these conversations. So there are certainly conversations about what steps we can and should take,” he said. she told reporters.

Matthew Vann of ABC News contributed to this report.