Dr. Anthony Fauci addressed some of the response to relaxed COVID-19 mask guidance, saying Thursday that many Americans are pushing the boundaries of what\u2019s safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately some people interpreted [the new rules] as everyone can get rid of their mask, which is not the case,\u201d\u00a0Fauci, the country\u2019s top infectious disease expert, said of easing restrictions.<\/p>\n
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully vaccinated people could safely stop wearing masks inside most places (but not in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters).\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re clarifying that now, and I think we\u2019re getting on the right track,\u201d he said from Children\u2019s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he was visiting a vaccine clinic with first lady Jill Biden, according to a White House pool report.<\/p>\n
The relaxed guidance has not been embraced by everyone. \u201cThe guidance shifts all the burden onto individuals to be \u2018on their honor,\u2019\u201d\u00a0Lisa Maragakis, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told The Washington Post.<\/p>\n
Only\u00a048% of people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated, and it\u2019s likely that those who don\u2019t plan to get immunized will also follow the rules for vaccinated people,\u00a0putting those who are immunocompromised at risk.<\/p>\n
An Economist\/YouGov poll released earlier this month showed that vaccine rejectors are more likely to think it is safe for them to stop wearing masks. The poll found that 63% of Americans who said they didn\u2019t plan to get vaccinated already felt at least \u201csomewhat\u201d safe gathering indoors without a mask alongside other unvaccinated, unmasked people. Comparatively, just 36% of people who\u2019ve received at least one dose of the vaccine said the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fauci and other public health leaders have also fought off Republican lawmakers\u2019 accusations that the updated guidance had political timing. Many claimed it was an attempt to distract from other national and global issues, citing gas shortages, violence in Gaza, and border security.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fauci and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said last weekend on Fox News that the decision to relax mask guidance was supported by science and came after a steep drop in new COVID-19 cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cases came down over the last two weeks. And so that\u2019s \u2014 I delivered it as soon as I can when we had that information available,\u201d Walensky said, citing two supporting studies.\u00a0<\/p>\n