The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, defended the agency’s guidelines for guiding Covid-19 masks amid widespread criticism from lawmakers and health authorities.
“These topics are complex, science moves on, science moves and we follow science every day and our guidance moves on as science moves,” Walensky said during a Wednesday interview on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard” Blacksmith. ”
Walensky pointed out the declining Covid cases and rising vaccination rates in the nation. The U.S. positivity rate fell to 3.1%, the lowest level in the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University. Almost 59% of adults have received at least one vaccine, according to the CDC.
The CDC chief also signaled to Shepard Smith that guidelines will change soon after the agency approves the administration of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine to teenagers aged 12-15.
“Today we have vaccines available for 12-15 year olds. [the agency’s guidelines are] I’ll have to keep evolving and I’m very excited to update them very soon, “said Walensky.
Smith also asked Walensky why everyone who had been vaccinated in his office still had to wear masks inside. She stated that the CDC wants to make sure the vaccines are effective against all variants circulating in the US and that “you are not an asymptomatic carrier if you are vaccinated” before indoor masks are completely phased out.
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