The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was expected Tuesday to backpedal on its masking guidelines and recommend that even vaccinated people wear masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging, a federal official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss details of the new policy. The CDC was expected to make an announcement later in the day.
The mask policy is reportedly meant to combat the spread of COVID-19, and organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC are now saying people should wear masks regardless of their vaccination status.
This is a change in tune. In May, for example, the White House tweeted, "Big news from the CDC: If you're fully vaccinated, you do not need to wear a mask – indoors or outdoors, in most settings. We've gotten this far. Whether you choose to get vaccinated or wear a mask, please protect yourself until we get to the finish line."
And just last week during a Town Hall with CNN's Don Lemon, President Biden stated, "If you're vaccinated, you should not wear a mask. If you aren't vaccinated, you should be wearing a mask."
But Twila Brase, RN and president/co-founder of Citizens' Council for Health Freedom (CCHF), says the mask does not keep a person from getting COVID-19.
"It's never kept you from getting COVID-19," she asserts. "You might recall Dr. Fauci in his emails that we now have unveiled told someone that there was no need for her to wear a mask on a plane because the virus would just come through it. This is just like a big theater production here that's taking place in order to try to get everybody vaccinated, and it just doesn't work. It has certainly convinced a lot of people that it's true, but just because you're convinced that it's true doesn't mean that it is."
She says the mask does not help against COVID because "the virus itself is so tiny that it can go through the mask fibers."
"If you have an N95, now there you might have some protection, particularly if it is face fit," Brase continues. "But the other masks are not face fit. The air is going up around your glasses; it's going in and out the sides. The air is coming and going all the time, so it does not protect because it's insufficient to deal with the size and the type of the virus that it is."
Meanwhile in New York City, all city workers will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine or be subject to weekly testing come September.
"This is coercion of another kind," Brase responds. "It does not follow the science, and right now, if you just look at the death statistics for COVID-19 in the state of New York, it's virtually flatlined."
She does acknowledge that many people are getting the Delta variant.
"But it's not as lethal," the CCHF president adds. "They're not getting hospitalized, so this is a soft coercion to get everybody vaccinated, to try to make them uncomfortable enough that they finally submit to the thing that they really don't want to do. That is not what government officials should be doing to workers."
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday there would have to be consequences for those who are unvaccinated.
"This is about our recovery," he declared. "This is about what we need to do to bring back New York City. This is about keeping people safe. This is about making sure our families get through COVID okay. This is about bringing back jobs."
The NYC policy takes effect September 13th.
