The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a series of new guidelines this week, offering advice on topics such as wearing a mask and quarantining after exposure to COVID-19.
The guidelines are a response to threats from new, more contagious strains of viruses, but also indicate what life after vaccination might look like in the US.
Here are five things to know about the agency’s advice.
Close-fitting masks provide better protection
The CDC released an investigation on Wednesday on how to ensure masks provide the best possible protection against coronavirus infections. The evidence showed that wearing a tight-fitting surgical mask, or cloth mask over a surgical mask, can significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The study found that transmission of the virus can be reduced by up to 96.5 percent if both an infected person and an uninfected person wear tight-fitting surgical masks or a cloth-over-surgical mask combination.
The best way to ensure a tight fit with a single surgical mask, according to the CDC, is to tie the ear loops and tuck the sides close to the face.
CDC also recommended wearing a mask fitter or brace, which can be worn over a cloth mask or a disposable mask, to ensure that air doesn’t seep in or out along the edges.
Only sometimes two masks are better than one
Biden administrative officials want people to wear masks, but the CDC doesn’t specifically say people should double-mask when they are outdoors.
A cloth-over-surgical combination provides the best protection, but any facial covering is better than none at all.
“What the CDC says is minimal: wear a mask. OK? This is what they say. Make sure you wear a mask.” Anthony Fauci
Anthony Fauci Majority of the US workforce continues to work remotely amid the coronavirus: The Hill’s Morning Report poll – presented by TikTok – Dems leave their case; Judgment on Trump This Weekend Overnight Health Care: Biden Says US Will Have Sufficient Doses to Vaccinate Every American By July | Fauci thinks widespread vaccine distribution will be available as early as April Long-Awaited CDC Guidelines on Reopening Schools Coming Tomorrow MORE, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said during a recent interview on NBC’s “Today.”
‘Then you want it to fit better, so one of the ways you could do it, if you wanted to, is to put on a cloth mask … That’s all they say,’ added Fauci to it.
During a phone call with reporters discussing the study, CDC director Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky Overnight Health Care: CDC Calls for Reopening of Schools with Precautions | Cuomo receives increasing attention for deaths in the nursing home COVID-19 | Biden Officials Move to Begin Revoking Medicaid Work Requirements CDC Calls for Reopening of Schools with Precautions Montana Governor Lifts State Mask Mandate MORE stressed that the agency’s guidelines on masks did not change.
“I want to be clear that this new scientific data released today does not change the specific recommendations about who should wear a mask or when to wear one, but it does provide new information about why wearing a properly fitting mask. so important to protect you and others, ”Walensky said.
However, CDC also warned that double masking doesn’t always provide the best protection. For example, doubling disposable masks does not help to improve fit, nor will combining any type of mask with a KN95 respirator.
New virus strains increase the need for safe practices
The mask recommendations come as new, more contagious strains of the coronavirus are discovered in numerous states across the country.
But the emphasis on well-fitting masks emphasizes the position of health experts and government officials: People shouldn’t have to change their behavior just because there are new variants of the virus.
The mutations that lead to the variants can only occur if the virus is able to spread and replicate. If you stop the spread, you stop the risk of a new mutation.
Until there is widespread immunity, people are advised to keep wearing masks, keep physical distance, and avoid crowds, especially indoors – essentially the same advice experts have been giving since last spring.
“So the way you stop this is stop the transmission of the virus through masking,” said John Brooks, CDC’s chief medical officer, in an interview on SiriusXM’s “Doctor Radio Reports.”
Officials warn of withdrawal restrictions
States and cities across the country continue to lift coronavirus restrictions, including revoking mask mandates, allowing indoor dining and increasing indoor capacity limits.
But top health officials have cautiously suggested that while the number of cases, deaths, and hospitalizations has declined, now is not the time to soften the mitigation efforts.
“These variants are a threat,” said Brooks. “This is not unexpected … but we are in a place where we can’t let our guard down just yet. I really don’t think this is necessarily the best time for some communities in America to withdraw these as masking mandates,” if you want.”
The variant first found in the UK is at least 40 percent more contagious than the current strains and is expected to become the dominant variant in the US as early as next month. A variant first identified in South Africa has also spread.
If the number of cases of those variants increases, it could overwhelm hospitals and deal a significant blow to current mitigation efforts.
Walensky also urged states not to lift the restrictions just yet.
“We don’t have this pandemic under control yet. We still have an emerging threat of variants, and I would just discourage all those activities. We really need to keep all of the mitigation measures here if we are really controlling this pandemic,” she told reporters. during a briefing on Monday.
Vaccines work
A positive update the CDC made this week is that people who have been vaccinated do not need to go into quarantine if exposed to someone with COVID-19.
Under updated guidelines, most individuals who have been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks do not need to go into quarantine after exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 if they have not had any symptoms.
The message is, if you’ve been vaccinated, we know you are protected from symptomatic infection.
More importantly, the guidelines indicate that the CDC recognizes for the first time that the vaccine can also prevent people from spreading the disease.
Although people without symptoms are still at risk of spreading the coronavirus, “symptomatic and presymptomatic transmission” is believed to play a greater role in transmission than purely asymptomatic transmission.
That information can also help employers and employees when people start switching back to on-site work. The benefits of not forcing people into lockdown for potential exposure for two weeks may outweigh the risks of transmission.
One caveat, though, is that the CDC says it’s not known how long the protection lasts, meaning people who had their last shot three months ago or more should still be quarantined if exposed.