“The pandemic is not over”

The largest union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States urges the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reinstate universal masking recommendations for people regardless of their vaccination status, citing growing concerns about the Delta COVID variant- 19.

In a public letter to CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky on Monday, National Nurses United calls for a return to masking policies for all Americans. “Our suggestions are based on science and the precautionary principle and are made to protect nurses, other essential workers, patients and the public from COVID-19,” the letter said, noting that the pandemic is “far from over. ‘to be completed’.

“It’s no surprise that cases are on the rise after many states quickly reopened and public health measures were removed, including the May 13 CDC guideline update that told people vaccinated they didn’t ‘no longer needed to wear masks, observe physical distancing, avoid crowds or be tested or isolated after exposure, with a few exceptions, “the letter continued.” The CDC guidelines failed to hold up. takes into account the possibility – which preliminary data from the UK and Israel now indicate as probable – of infection and transmission of the virus, particularly variants of concern, by fully vaccinated individuals. “

The union specifically requests the following from the CDC:

• Reinstate the recommendation for everyone (regardless of immunization status) to wear masks in public or near others outside their home.

• Update healthcare infection control and other COVID-19 guidelines to recognize that the virus can be transmitted through aerosols.

• Require transparent tracking and reporting of COVID-19 infections among healthcare workers and other essential workers.

• Track infections in fully vaccinated people, including mild and asymptomatic infections.

“The pandemic is not over and the United States is once again on the precipice of an increase in cases,” the letter said. “Nurses and healthcare workers stand ready to care for the sickest patients and play a critical role in the response to the pandemic. But our members need safe workplaces to keep their patients and communities safe.

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The CDC did not respond to Yahoo Life’s request for comment.

This is not the first time that National Nurses United has spoken out against CDC guidelines on masks. In May, the organization’s co-chair, Jean Ross, told CNN New day that the policy change is “very confusing for people”.

“We currently have questions from our patients, our families, their families, friends, and I can see why this is confusing,” said Ross. “We have spent so much time trying to redevelop the trust people have with their government entities about what is right and what is not.” She added: “We are not out of the woods yet in this area.”

National Nurses United co-chair Deborah Burger, a registered nurse who works on gastroenterology procedures in Santa Monica, Calif., Told Yahoo Life her organization decided to write the letter because “pandemic n ‘is not over “.

“People are still at risk of contracting COVID,” she said. “Nurses and other healthcare workers are also at risk. The CDC must institute universal masking to protect the health of the public.”

“Nurses have a scientific practice, but we also practice the precautionary principle, which means you don’t wait for scientific proof of harm before you take action to protect people’s health,” Burger explained. “We have expressed concerns about the impacts of CDC guidelines of May 13, 2021 that told fully vaccinated people that they no longer need to wear masks, physical distance or avoid crowds, or remain isolated. or get tested after exposure, with a few exceptions. , when it was released. Unfortunately, what worried us in May has now happened. “

Burger says the Delta variant is of particular concern to nurses. “This variant is significantly more transmissible and preliminary data from other countries with outbreaks indicates that vaccines are less effective against this variant,” she said. “There is a significant increase in new cases [and] hospitalizations in many states, with some seeing an increase in the number of COVID patients. “

Burger says vaccines are “important” in the response to the pandemic but, she adds, “we also need to maintain public health measures.”

But infectious disease experts are mixed on this. “There is no evidence that fully vaccinated people have much to fear from the Delta variant,” infectious disease expert Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, principal investigator at Johns Hopkins Center for Health, told Yahoo Life. Security. “Therefore, I do not agree with this statement from the union.”

Adalja says he doesn’t think the CDC will follow the recommendation “because it is not based on the evidence that has risen on the vaccines and the Delta variant.” He adds: “What would be much more helpful for the union would be to adopt compulsory vaccination for all healthcare workers as a condition of employment.”

But Dr Richard Watkins, an infectious disease physician and professor of internal medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University, told Yahoo Life he believes universal masking is a “good idea” as the pandemic continues, in especially in areas with low vaccination rates. Universal masking “should be done in states where the vaccination rate is less than 50 percent,” he says.

Burger says she “hopes” the CDC will take her organization’s letter seriously. “We also want the pandemic to be over, but we know ignoring the data on the increase in cases and failing to implement the precautions will cost the lives of our most vulnerable patients,” she said.

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