Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Weighs Whether It's Time To Tell Vaccinated To Mask Back Up
NIAID director Anthony Fauci told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that health officials are considering revising masking guidelines for vaccinated Americans. Fauci said that the United States is "going in the wrong direction" as cases surge across the country, driven by the more contagious Delta variant. "If you look at the inflection of the curve of new cases and, as you said in the run-in to this interview, it is among the unvaccinated. And since we have 50% of the country that not fully vaccinated, that's a problem," Fauci said. (Saric, 7/25)
Dr. Anthony Fauci says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are weighing revising their COVID-19 guidelines to recommend that even fully vaccinated individuals wear masks in public. Fauci, the nation鈥檚 top government infectious disease official, told CNN鈥檚 鈥淪tate of the Union鈥 that he鈥檚 taken part in conversations about altering the guidelines, something he described as being 鈥渦nder active consideration. 鈥滻n the last two weeks, COVID-19 cases have increased 171% nationally, fueled by the delta variant. The聽death rate聽is up 19%聽over the week before. (Aspegren, 7/26)
The debate over masks is heating up again, with increasing calls for all Americans, regardless of coronavirus vaccination status, to return to wearing face coverings in indoor public places to help thwart the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. But some experts say the recommendations should specify the kind of masks people should be using. 鈥淒elta is so contagious that when we talk about masks, I don鈥檛 think we should just talk about masks,鈥 Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said during a recent appearance on CBS鈥檚 鈥淔ace the Nation.鈥 鈥淚 think we should be talking about high-quality masks,鈥 such as N95 respirators. (Chiu, 7/24)
Another health expert warns against going to bars, restaurants if you're unvaccinated 鈥
Less than half of the US population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 -- and with cases on the rise, experts are urging a return to precautions reminiscent of the earlier days of the pandemic. "What I would say bluntly is: If you are not vaccinated right now in the United States, you should not go into a bar, you should probably not eat at a restaurant. You are at great risk of becoming infected," CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, told CNN's Fredricka Whitfield. (Holcombe, 7/26)
