Headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the latest COVID-19 guidelines to relax masking recommendations last month, some people undoubtedly sighed relief and thought it was just around the corner.
People are becoming more and more comfortable shopping, attending live events, and meeting friends at restaurants. And many are ready to throw away their masks.
Still, a recent KFF poll pointed out the underlying tensions. Nearly half were worried that COVID-related restrictions such as indoor masking would be too early, as 62% of the majority of Americans said the worst of the pandemic was behind us. rice field. In a February poll, 49% of adults were “extremely worried” or “somewhat worried” that lifting pandemic restrictions would increase virus-related deaths in their communities. I found out. About 50% said they were “not too worried” or “not worried at all” about the increase in deaths in their communities.
The CDC move has triggered some of the complex emotions from the same public that polls have revealed and exposed divisions within the healthcare community.
On the other hand, there is applause.
The CDC protocol changes indicate that the country is approaching a “transition from the pandemic stage to the endemic stage,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. According to Benjamin, he is shifting his focus to monitoring the outbreak of infection, rather than pushing a message of prevention.
On the other hand, there are criticisms — and there are worries.
“When we heard about deregulation, Dr. Benjamin Neumann, a professor at Texas A & M University and chief virologist at the Global Health Research Complex, said: And we’re not there yet, And it’s a little painful and pulling a little hair. “
What are the new guidelines? And how are they different?
Prior to the renewal, the CDC considered a significant or high-risk community if there was an infection rate of 50 or more new cases per 100,000 residents the previous week.
According to the agency’s new community-based guidance, risk levels are low, medium, or high, and are determined by examining three factors over a seven-day period: Percentage of beds and hospitalizations used.
This change has had a major impact on how COVID-19 risk is measured nationwide. For example, the day before the CDC released new guidelines, 95% of national counties were considered substantial or high-risk areas. According to the agency, only 14 percent of counties are currently in the high-risk category.
CDC does not recommend specific masks for low-risk areas. In areas classified as medium risk, people with other health problems or immunodeficiencies should consult with their healthcare provider about whether to wear a mask and take other precautions. It is recommended. In areas of high risk, residents are encouraged to wear masks in indoor public spaces.
Keriarthof, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said: “Specifically, the effects of severe illness and death.”
But she said people shouldn’t remove the mask yet. The virus continues to spread worldwide, even as national infection rates decline. “We must be fully aware that there are so many unvaccinated people on this planet internationally, and this is where the varieties come from,” Altov said. Told.
Rose thorns from experts
In the same week that the CDC published new guidelines, the CDC reported an average of about 71,000 new COVID-19 cases and 5,400 hospitalizations across the country over a seven-day period. About 2,000 people die of the disease every day.
It is these numbers that some public health experts have questioned the timing of the CDC.
“I think we opened many times prematurely at this point and unmasked prematurely. Then we remasked and reclosed and just saw the hospital completely overwhelmed. I don’t really trust this, “said Newman of Texas A & M.
“Many times,” he said, when the CDC was alert and the virus returned more powerful. “We’re basically taking our feet off the accelerator in what we’re doing to slow down the virus, which means that more viruses will sprout and swirl.” He said.
The CDC’s goal of easing mask obligations was to create regulations that would make people more attractive and easy to follow, as “it is difficult to sell prudence as really attractive.” In addition, public health officials need to have a program that the entire country can follow, he said. He added that the fight against the virus cannot be won by the policy that “people obey in the blue states, but not in the red states.” “Because viruses are a very collective risk.”
There is also a question about how effective the new approach is for signaling when the risk is increasing.
Joshua Salomon, a professor of health policy at Stanford University School of Medicine, said the CDC designed new guidance to incorporate stronger indicators of surge, but it has a “very slow trigger.” ..
Salomon, along with Alyssa Bilinski, an assistant professor of health policy at Brown University, investigated the surge in Delta and Omicron, and a rough rule of thumb for that period is 21 days after most states have risen to high-risk levels. was. The mortality rate reached 3 for every 1 million people. This is equivalent to about 1,000 deaths a day at the national level.
The updated CDC guidance “is intended to provide a sort of warning that the state is entering a period of expected serious consequences,” he said. But the new approach didn’t sound the alarm until mortality had already reached its “quite high” mark.
However, others are pointing to different sets of numbers. They state that mitigating the COVID-19 protocol is the right decision, as 65% of Americans have been fully vaccinated and 44% have boosted immunization as of March 8.
According to APHA Benjamin, the new strategy is positive and continues to measure and track the spread of the virus. “This gives us a way to scale up and scale back the response.”
He added that the guidelines are based on a 7-day average, which is a good way to monitor the risk level of the community and determine which set of obligations is appropriate. “Therefore, if the community changes from green to yellow to red, refer to the CDC’s color-coded map that tracks the county’s COVID-19 levels, and that community will follow its practices based on disease prevalence. Need to change. There. “
According to Benjamin, the guidelines are “scientifically sound and practical.” Over time, he added, more communities will move into the low and medium categories. “The truth of the matter is that people can’t be kept in an emergency forever,” he continued. “And this will never be zero risk … [COVID-19’s] Being around, you need to learn to live together. “
What about people who are not eligible for the vaccine or who are immunocompromised?
The CDC’s relaxed recommendations do not prevent anyone from wearing a mask. But for millions of Americans who are immunocompromised or too young to be vaccinated, less masking means a loss of defense to health in public.
Children under the age of 5 are not yet eligible for vaccination, and those who are more susceptible to more serious illnesses due to immunodeficiency include cancer patients and organ transplant recipients who are receiving aggressive treatment. People with chronic illnesses and disabilities are also vulnerable.
“You can only control so much,” Neuman said. “And if you are exposed to a sufficient amount of virus and you are doing all the right things, you can still sometimes end up with bad results.”
Masks are most effective when everyone in the room is wearing a mask, but the new mission is “similar to victim blaming. Basically,” there is a problem, so extra to deal with the problem. There is a heavy burden. “
Kaiser Health News is a national news room that produces detailed journalism on health issues. KHN is one of the three main operational programs of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), along with policy analysis and polling. Distributed by the Tribune Content Agency.
