CDC to significantly ease pandemic mask guidelines Friday

[Celerity]

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-pandemics-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-64f411f3b8c91faa091332ada342ab19

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter, meaning most Americans will no longer be advised to wear masks in indoor public settings.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday will announce a change to the metrics it uses to determine whether to recommend face coverings, shifting from looking at COVID-19 case counts to a more holistic view of risk from the coronavirus to a community. Under current guidelines, masks are recommended for people residing in communities of substantial or high transmission — roughly 95% of U.S. counties, according to the latest data.

The new metrics will still consider caseloads, but also take into account hospitalizations and local hospital capacity, which have been markedly improved during the emergence of the omicron variant. That strain is highly transmissible, but indications are that it is less severe than earlier strains, particularly for people who are fully vaccinated and boosted. Under the new guidelines, the vast majority of Americans will no longer live in areas where indoor masking in public is recommended, based on current data.

The new policy comes as the Biden administration moves to shift its focus to preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19, rather than all instances of infection, as part of a strategy adjustment for a new “phase” in the response as the virus becomes endemic.

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[Celerity]

1. live announcement coming soon

[democrattotheend]

2. Does the new guidance apply to everyone regardless of vaccination status?

Or are unvaccinated people still advised to wear masks indoors in public? Not that it matters much, since most unvaccinated people are also the ones who refuse to wear masks, with some exceptions.

[Celerity]

3. CDC says Americans can now go unmasked in many parts of the country

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/02/25/1082249002/cdc-says-americans-can-now-go-unmasked-in-many-parts-of-the-country

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday it is relaxing its mask guidance for communities where hospitals aren't under high strain. Under the new guidance, nearly 70% of the U.S. population lives in areas considered to be low or medium risk and residents there are advised they can go indoors without masks. The CDC recommends continued mask use in communities where serious cases of COVID-19 are straining the health system.

The move to ease masking guidance, federal officials say, reflects current conditions at this phase of the pandemic, including widespread immunity through vaccination and prior infection as well as better access to testing and treatments. "We want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing," said CDC director Rochelle Walensky at a press briefing Friday, adding that new risk guidelines that the agency is implementing will help people know when to reach for masks again if conditions warrant.

Health officials emphasized that people should still wear masks if they wish or if they are personally at high risk. And regardless of local conditions, they should mask if they have COVID-19 symptoms, a positive test or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. As part of the change, the CDC is dropping its recommendation for universal school masking and instead will recommend masking only in communities at a high level of risk.

The new guidelines for assessing community risk, released Friday, weigh hospitalizations for COVID-19 and the proportion of beds occupied by COVID-19 patients in local hospitals more heavily than rates of new infections alone. "As the virus continues to circulate in our communities, we must focus our metrics beyond just cases in the community and direct our efforts toward protecting people at high risk for severe illness and preventing COVID 19 from overwhelming our hospitals and our health care system," said Walensky.

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I do not see any mention of vax status