The CDC updated its guidance to allow vaccinated people to forgo masks even while indoors in most situations, the Biden administration announced Thursday.
The new guidance, first reported by the Associated Press, urges urge masking in crowded areas, but may speed the reopening of offices and schools. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had declined to comment on whether the CDC planned to update its guidance at a Thursday press briefing. The guidance also says it is safe for vaccinated people to go maskless in crowds outdoors.
WASHINGTON (AP) — AP Source: CDC to issue guidance Thursday allowing fully vaccinated people to ditch masks indoors in many instances.
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) May 13, 2021
Confirmed: CDC is issuing new guidance today that fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks indoors in most situations.
Pressed by governors on the subject earlier this wk, Biden said he expected an update soon. White House just added 3:45pm covid remarks to his schedule
— Meredith Lee (@meredithllee) May 13, 2021
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that ending indoor mask mandates wholesale is “on the horizon.” The CDC first updated its mask guidance in April to allow vaccinated people to forgo masks outdoors in non-crowded areas. (RELATED: Fauci Says We’re In The Bottom Of The 6th Inning In The Fight Against Coronavirus)
“I think you’re going to probably be seeing that as we go along, and as more people get vaccinated,” Fauci said to ABC News This Week.
Dr. Fauci tells Wolf Blitzer that we are at the “bottom of the 6th inning” in the fight against coronavirus pic.twitter.com/rWkyHZZqkH
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 4, 2021
Fauci, however, has also predicted that mask-wearing may become a seasonal practice even long after the coronavirus pandemic has ended, pointing to the lower-than-usual
“We’ve had practically a non-existent flu season this year merely because people were doing the kinds of public health things that were directed predominantly against COVID-19,” Fauci told NBC News on Sunday.
“So it is conceivable that as we go on, a year or two or more from now, that during certain seasonal periods when you have respiratory-borne viruses like the flu, people might actually elect to wear masks to diminish the likelihood that you’ll spread these respiratory-borne diseases,” he added.