Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fully Vaccinated People Can Skip Masks In Most Indoor, Outdoor Places: CDC
The Wall Street Journal: Fully Vaccinated People Can Stop Wearing Face Masks And End Physical Distancing In Most Settings, CDC Says
Fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear a mask or physically distance during outdoor or indoor activities, large or small, federal health officials said, the broadest easing of pandemic recommendations so far. The fully vaccinated should continue to wear a mask while traveling by plane, bus or train, and the guidance doesn’t apply to certain places such as hospitals, nursing homes and prisons, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. (Abbott, 5/13)
The Washington Post: Masks Required On Airlines, Trains And Buses In New CDC Guidance
Fully vaccinated people traveling in buses, trains and airplanes must continue to wear a mask, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, even as it said they could go without one in most other indoor settings. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the agency is continuing to review its travel policies, but she did not explain the reasoning during a briefing Thursday on the new recommendations. (Duncan, 5/13)
NBC News: Here’s The Science That Convinced The CDC To Lift Mask Mandates
In announcing the agency's updated guidelines, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said there are "numerous reports in the literature" to demonstrate the safety and real-world effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines. (Chow, 5/13)
AP: 'Great Day For America': Vaccinated Can Largely Ditch Masks
The new guidance is likely to open the door to confusion, since there is no surefire way for businesses or others to distinguish between those who are fully vaccinated and those who are not. “Millions of Americans are doing the right thing and getting vaccinated, but essential workers are still forced to play mask police for shoppers who are unvaccinated and refuse to follow local COVID safety measures,” said Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. “Are they now supposed to become the vaccination police?” (Miller and Balsamo, 5/14)
The New York Times: Vaccinated Americans May Go Without Masks In Most Places, Federal Officials Say
The new recommendations caught state officials and businesses by surprise and raised a host of difficult questions about how the guidelines would be carried out. But the advice came as welcome news to many Americans who were weary of restrictions and traumatized by the past year. “We have all longed for this moment,” Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a White House news conference on Thursday. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.” (Rabin, Mandavilli and Weiland, 5/13)
Politico: CDC: Vaccinated People Can Now Remove Masks In Most Group Settings
The announcement by the CDC Thursday marked a massive shift in the Biden administration’s thinking about Covid-19. Six weeks ago, senior health officials warned of rising Covid-19 infection rates and pleaded with all Americans to continue to adhere to the strictest of public health measures. [CDC Director Rochelle] Walensky went as far as saying she was “scared” about the rising case counts. (Banco and Lim, 5/13)
CBS News: CDC Updates Guidance, Says Fully Vaccinated People Can Go Maskless In Most Settings
The president praised those who have gotten vaccinated for doing their "patriotic duty." "For more than a year, you've endured so much, and so many lost jobs, so many businesses lost, so many lives upended, and so many months that our kids couldn't be in school. You couldn't see your friends and family," the president said. (Watson, Cook and Erickson, 5/13)
