Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Leadership Urges Mask Wearing
The Hill: CDC Director Says Trump, Pence Should Wear Masks To Set Example
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield said Tuesday the president and vice president need to wear masks to set an example for the public. President Trump wore a mask in public for the first time over the weekend, nearly three months after the CDC issued guidance recommending the use of face coverings when social distancing isn’t possible. Trump has previously argued he doesn’t need to wear a mask because he is routinely tested for COVID-19. (Hellmann, 7/14)
CNN: US Coronavirus: CDC Director Says Masks Are Key To Reopening Schools
Getting children back to in-person learning is important for their social well-being -- but the key to reopening classrooms during the coronavirus pandemic is masks, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. Dr. Robert Redfield, speaking during a Buck Institute webinar, said everyone should work together to find common ground for reopening in a way that is safe and comfortable with people. He said the CDC is presenting options for school systems, and will release some additional resources this week on how to reopen schools. (Almasy and Maxouris, 7/14)
Stat: Mask-Wearing Can Bring Covid-19 Under Control, CDC Director Says
“Like herd immunity with vaccines, the more individuals wear cloth face coverings in public places where they may be close together, the more the entire community is protected,” Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and two colleagues wrote in an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association, also published on Tuesday. Because cloth face coverings can also allow states to more safely ease stay-at-home orders and business closings, Redfield told a JAMA Live webcast Tuesday, “If we could get everybody to wear a mask right now, I really think in the next four, six, eight weeks, we could bring this epidemic under control.” (Begley, 7/14)
In related news —
The Hill: Poll: Plurality Of Voters Believe Trump's Refusal To Wear Masks In Public Deters Americans From Wearing Masks Themselves
Forty-four percent of voters in a new poll said people are less likely to wear masks when President Trump does not wear a mask in public to lower the spread of the coronavirus. The July 7-10 Hill-HarrisX poll survey was taken before Trump donned a face mask during a visit to Walter Reed Hospital, the first time he did so in front of cameras since the CDC recommended face masks to slow the spread of the COVID-19 disease. Thirty-two percent of registered voters said the president's refusal to don a mask makes people more likely to wear a mask, while 24 percent said it has no effect. (7/14)
Los Angeles Times: How Trump Went From Shunning To Wearing A Mask In The Pandemic
When President Trump wore a face mask in public for the first time this weekend, his supporters were exultant.“Goodnight, Joe Biden,” tweeted Boris Epshteyn, a campaign advisor. “Game on,” declared Sebastian Gorka, an official who recently rejoined the administration. Campaign manager Brad Parscale simply tweeted a photo of the masked president touring Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., with the familiar Trump slogan #AmericaFirst. With all the crowing, you’d think Trump and his orbit had long seen wearing a mask as a no-brainer and political win. But Trump’s journey to don a mask is far more circuitous than what his allies portray. (Mason, 7/14)
