The federal government is no longer recommending universal masking in health facilities, according to new CDC recommendations quietly published last week.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordinance It reversed nearly two-and-a-half years of guidance issued on Friday saying that face coverings are now required only in hospitals and nursing homes where transmission of COVID-19 is high.
Facilities can no longer “choose to require” that patients, doctors and visitors wear masks at all times when virus transmission is low. The CDC said the guidance also applies to home health care, and can be overridden by local measures. It does not apply to non-health care settings.
The agency said caregivers who work with immunocompromised patients or in parts of facilities experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks should still wear masks, regardless of the transmission level.
Community transmission defines the amount of COVID-19 spread and “is currently the recommended metric to guide select practices in health care settings, before there is pressure on the health care system and to better provide care for individuals in these settings.” To allow for earlier interventions for safety,” the CDC says.
The agency wrote as a rationale for the relaxed guidance, “were updated to reflect higher levels of vaccine- and infection-induced immunity and the availability of effective treatment and prevention tools.”
The reversal of the guidelines, introduced in April of 2020, was criticized by some health experts, who considered it counterproductive.
“The finely this is your cake and eat this approach has not worked a single time during the pandemic. People hear “No more masks!” tweeted Jerome Adams, who served as the US Surgeon General for most of former President Donald Trump’s administration.
Illinois pediatrician and clinical immunologist Dr. Zachary Rubin tweeted, “@CDCgov saying that masks may not be required in health care settings not only puts vulnerable patients at risk, but everyone else makes healthcare workers more vulnerable to getting sick ”
“Everyone may have less access to care when winter goes on.”
Ninety-nine percent of Americans were experiencing county rates high transmission Including the entire New York City metro area on Wednesday, according to CDC data. Seven percent of US counties were areas of “high risk” as of September 22, the agency said.