CDC’s new mask guidelines could actually increase risk of spreading Covid, some scientists say, workers nervous

The CDC's new mask guidelines could actually increase risk of spreading Covid at work and in public, scientists say The CDC's announcement led to widespread confusion and frustration because it was unexpected and lacked clear direction for state and local officials. Rich Mendez CNBC

The CDC’s new mask guidelines could actually increase the risk of spreading Covid-19 in public spaces and workplaces, scientists of a leading infectious disease group said Thursday.

The CDC abruptly reversed its mask guidance for vaccinated Americans last week to say that vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask indoors or outdoors in most settings. Officials said they changed their guidance, in part, because research shows the vaccines provide a very high level of protection against getting sick from Covid-19 and spreading it to others.

“There is no debate about this fact,” Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, who sits on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, said at a press briefing hosted by the Infectious Disease Society of America on Thursday. The agency’s announcement, however, led to widespread confusion and frustration because “it was unexpected and lacked needed context for implementation by state and local public health community,” he said.

Duchin is the society’s liaison to the CDC’s immunization committee. The society represents leading infectious disease specialists in the U.S.

“There was no information on how to apply the guidance in practice, particularly related to the inability to verify vaccination status,” Duchin said. The CDC also didn’t provide any guidance on whether people should continue wearing masks in areas of high transmission or low vaccination rates, he said. “What the CDC did though was sub-optimal and allowed for misimpression that the mask mandates have been lifted.”

Physicians across the country and federal health officials continue to emphasize that only vaccinated people are safe to remove their masks. The new mask guidance has been misinterpreted as an end to the pandemic and mask mandates, putting local health officials in a very tough position. States across the U.S. took the news as a cue to ease mask mandates. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott used the new guidance to justify signing an executive order that threatens to fine local officials and municipalities that don’t drop mask requirements.

Duchin said both vaccinated and unvaccinated people are probably safe outdoors without masks, but that’s not the case inside.

“Now the risk of Covid-19 spread is increased in crowded indoor spaces with unvaccinated people, and especially with poor ventilation,” Duchin said. While the CDC’s scientific basis for the change “is solid,” Duchin said ending the indoor mask mandate “could lead to increased risk in public spaces and workplaces with preventable Covid-19 spread primarily among the unvaccinated.”

Vaccination rates vary across the country, and the majority of those vaccinated are older adults. Large subgroups still remain unvaccinated, such as younger adults. ...

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