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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stayed true to form by deciding that its current mask guidance \u2013 not to be confused with its previous and repeatedly revised guidance \u2013 needs to be reversed. Again.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a shame so many Americans do not appreciate the new rules<\/a> concerning the use of face coverings among the fully vaccinated. After all, asking jabbed citizens to mask up after telling them they don\u2019t need to mask up, after suggesting to them that wearing two masks almost all the time would be even better, must be the best possible and most consistent public health policy under the current circumstances.<\/p>\n Enough, already: The historical record is self-explanatory. The CDC, together with America\u2019s trusted public-health bureaucrats, have always pursued evidence-based policymaking and have never once bowed to mass panic. The below timeline should finally put to rest all the feeble-minded moaning leveled against US health authorities during these trying times.<\/p>\n November 2004<\/b><\/p>\n The CDC publishes<\/a> guidance in response to \u201cquestions about the role of masks for controlling influenza when suboptimal immunization of the public could increase the frequency of influenza infection\u201d \u2013 a surprisingly topical issue, almost 20 years later.<\/p>\n Masks are not usually recommended in non-health-care settings, the advisory states. The CDC explains that, even though flu symptoms can take up to a week to appear, there is no apparent benefit from asymptomatic individuals wearing face coverings.<\/p>\n \u201cNo recommendation can be made at this time for mask use in the community by asymptomatic persons, including those at high risk for complications, to prevent exposure to influenza.\u201d<\/p>\n April 2009<\/b><\/p>\n The CDC issues<\/a> recommendations for the use of face masks and respirators in areas where H1N1 \u2018swine flu\u2019 has been detected.<\/p>\n \u201cInformation on the effectiveness of facemasks and respirators for the control of influenza in community settings is extremely limited,\u201d the agency explains. Face coverings should only be used when caring for sick individuals or in other specific circumstances, the CDC says, adding that \u201crelying\u201d on masks for protection in crowded settings is ill-advised. The health authority maintains<\/a> this position throughout the duration of the pandemic.<\/p>\n February 5, 2020<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n As Covid-19 begins to spread across the globe, Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to the president, receives an email<\/a> from a former senior US government official asking if she should wear a mask while traveling, as a precautionary measure.<\/p>\n He advises against it: \u201cThe typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out [the] virus, which is small enough to pass through the material.\u201d<\/p>\n February 28, 2020<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cCDC does not currently recommend the use of facemasks to help prevent novel #coronavirus,\u201d the public health agency tweets.<\/p>\n February 29, 2020<\/b><\/p>\n Americans begin to panic-buy masks, greatly irritating the nation\u2019s top health authorities.<\/p>\n \u201cSeriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus,\u201d US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams tweets. He adds that ordinary Americans should focus more on hand-washing and other sanitary measures, and let healthcare workers wear the masks \u2013 advice in perfect harmony with years-old CDC guidance. The tweet is later deleted, but the internet never forgets<\/a>.<\/p>\n March 8, 2020<\/b><\/p>\n A month after the Trump administration declares<\/a> a public health emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak, Fauci says<\/a> in an interview with 60 Minutes: \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to be walking around with a mask. When you\u2019re in the middle of an outbreak, wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better and it might even block a droplet, but it\u2019s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is.\u201d<\/p>\n In keeping with longstanding CDC guidance, he stresses that masks should be reserved for healthcare providers and those who are ill.<\/p>\n March 29, 2020<\/b><\/p>\n Doubling down on his previous remarks, Surgeon General Adams underscores that his office has \u201cconsistently recommended against the general public wearing masks as there is scant or conflicting evidence they benefit individual wearers in a meaningful way.\u201d<\/p>\n 1\/3 Regarding masks:@WHO@CDCgov<\/a> & my office have consistently recommended against the general public wearing masks as there is scant or conflicting evidence they benefit individual wearers in a meaningful way, but real concerns about pulling from the healthcare worker supply… pic.twitter.com\/uvjT31ZGt7<\/a> (In case you\u2019re wondering, the name of the Twitter account has changed because there\u2019s a new Surgeon General.)<\/p>\n March 31, 2020<\/b><\/p>\n In an article dunking on Donald Trump\u2019s suggestion that Americans could wear scarves to shield their faces from Covid-19, NBC facetiously reports<\/a>: \u201cWhile the science behind whether masks can prevent a person from catching the coronavirus hasn’t changed (a mask does not help a healthy person avoid infection), public guidance may be shifting.\u201d In the same article, the outlet stresses that there is \u201cno scientific evidence that wearing face coverings would have a measurable impact on flattening the coronavirus curve.\u201d<\/p>\n On the same day, CNN reports that Fauci supports \u201cbroadening\u201d mask use among the general public, provided there are enough face coverings for healthcare workers.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause if, in fact, a person who may or may not be infected wants to prevent infecting somebody else, the best way to do that is with a mask. Perhaps that’s the way to go,\u201d Fauci declares<\/a>, in a bold U-turn from his previous position on the matter.<\/p>\n April 2, 2020<\/b><\/p>\n The CDC\u2019s FAQ page about Covid-19 reads<\/a>: \u201cCDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses, including Covid-19. You should only wear a mask if a healthcare professional recommends it. A facemask should be used by people who have Covid-19 and are showing symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n April 3, 2020<\/b><\/p>\n Americans are suddenly informed that facemasks should actually be worn by just about everyone.<\/p>\n As cities across the United States begin to lock down, the CDC advises<\/a> Americans to voluntarily don cloth face masks, purportedly in a data-backed bid to help halt the virus. President Trump explains that the new guidance is prompted by concerns that seemingly healthy people are transmitting the disease: \u201cYou don\u2019t seem to have symptoms and it still gets transferred.\u201d<\/p>\n More than a decade of established public health policy goes out the window: The public should mask up. But not with medical-grade respirators \u2013 those are reserved for healthcare workers. Instead, people are urged to don cloth masks, which can be made at home in accordance with FDA manufacturing protocols.<\/p>\n The Masked War against Asymptomatic Spread of a Respiratory Virus \u2013 long regarded by the CDC as an unnecessary and futile endeavor \u2013 begins.<\/p>\n April 4, 2020<\/b><\/p>\n The CDC updates<\/a> its FAQ page about Covid-19. Citing \u201cnew data about how Covid-19 spreads, along with evidence of widespread Covid-19 illness in communities across the country,\u201d the agency now recommends the use of cloth face coverings. They should be worn by \u201cpeople older than 2 years of age in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.\u201d The CDC stresses<\/a> that these new recommendations do not apply to people who are \u201cunconscious.\u201d<\/p>\n May \u2013 December 2020<\/b><\/p>\n At the direction of the CDC, state and local governments begin to impose mask mandates. \u2018Karens\u2019 do battle with maskless grocery shoppers across the country. General chaos and deep paranoia ensue.<\/p>\n Pro-maskers and anti-maskers are now in mortal combat over the Asymptomatic Question. A smorgasbord of studies examining Covid-19 transmission cause further mayhem: Some researchers claim<\/a> that asymptomatic spread is nothing to sneeze at, while other scientists struggle<\/a> to identify a single case of asymptomatic transmission. The World Health Organization says<\/a> that asymptomatic transmission is \u201cvery rare,\u201d but then backpedals and declares more data is needed.<\/p>\n Wow! Just poublished, in Nature no less: Asymptomatic spread is not a thing. Our lockdowns of the healthy were largely for nothing, except to destroy societal health.The Chinese KNOW, and now WE do tooSo 2019 WHO guidelines were correct: no asymptomatic quarentine recommended🤨 pic.twitter.com\/pb6ouJyMPm<\/a> An article in the British Medical Journal notes<\/a> that the whole debate seems rather silly considering that PCR tests do not distinguish live virus and therefore cannot reliably identify \u201casymptomatic\u201d individuals: \u201cAs things stand, a person who tests positive with any kind of test may or may not have an active infection with live virus, and may or may not be infectious.\u201d<\/p>\n February 10, 2021<\/b><\/p>\n The CDC publishes<\/a> a study of its own claiming that two face masks \u2013 colloquially known as \u201cdouble masking\u201d \u2013 can reduce an individual\u2019s exposure to coronavirus particles.<\/p>\n However, the agency notes that the findings do not mean that Americans should wear two disposable masks at the same time. Instead, the data points<\/a> to why \u201cwearing a well-fitting mask is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone is very impressed, but by now masks are not in fashion. Millions of vaccinated Americans, who\u2019d been told that getting jabbed would give them unprecedented protection against Covid-19, begin to wonder why they are being nudged to put on another mask instead of being encouraged to take off the face-covering that they\u2019re already wearing. Patience, little lambs.<\/p>\n March 8, 2021<\/b><\/p>\n Finally: Fully vaccinated Americans don\u2019t need to wear masks when meeting indoors with close friends and family who have also been jabbed, the CDC announces<\/a>. Vaccinated individuals are still warned against traveling or gathering in large groups.<\/p>\n April 27, 2021<\/b><\/p>\n The CDC says<\/a> that fully vaccinated people can forgo masks at small outdoor gatherings. However, masks are still recommended when attending large outdoor events. Vaccinated individuals should also limit<\/a> nursing home visits to \u201ccompassionate care situations.\u201d<\/p>\n May 13, 2021<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Americans who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or adhere to social distancing rules indoors or outdoors, except under certain circumstances, the CDC announces.<\/p>\n CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky describes<\/a> the policy shift as an \u201cexciting and powerful moment.\u201d<\/p>\n July 9, 2021<\/b><\/p>\n Fully vaccinated teachers and students don\u2019t need to wear masks inside school buildings, the CDC says, in updated<\/a> guidance for schools.<\/p>\n July 21, 2021<\/b><\/p>\n
\n\u2014 Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) March 28, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n\u2014 Ivor Cummins (@FatEmperor) November 21, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n