Cities and states say they want to see data that led CDC to make mask U-turn before changing rules

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is coming under increasing pressure to release the data that prompted it to reverse its mask guidelines on Tuesday, as cities and states say they need to see the evidence before revising their own policies.

Federal officials say unpublished data showed vaccinated people infected with COVID-19 may be able to transmit the virus, leading them to recommend that everyone should wear a mask indoors in areas of high transmission.

'And I really haven't seen any data that would support that states that don't issue a mask mandate versus states that do issue a mask mandate - that the statistics are that much different.

'They're making a claim that people with delta who are vaccinated and unvaccinated have similar levels of viral load, but nobody knows what that means,' Dr Gregg Gonsalves, an associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health, told The Washington Post.When CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced the reversed policy on Tuesday she said 'new scientific data' justified the move.

At a press conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City Health and Hospitals President Mitchell Katz said: 'While the CDC issued their guidance yesterday at about 3 p.m., they have not yet released their scientific reports on the data that underlies their recommendation.

'They're making a claim that people with delta who are vaccinated and unvaccinated have similar levels of viral load, but nobody knows what that means,' Dr Gregg Gonsalves, an associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health, told The Post.'It's meaningless unless we see the data.

Experts like Dean want to see more data comparing case numbers between vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans.
 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9840171/Cities-states-say-want-data-led-CDC-make-mask-U-turn-changing-rules.html