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According to multiple reports, the CDC is expected to announce a change in its guidance regarding masks, allowing most Americans to ditch their facial coverings indoors.
The AP first reported the news, citing “two people familiar with the matter.” The new guidance is expected to be announced as soon as Friday, Feb. 25.
It marks the first indoor mask guidance change from the CDC since July 2021.
Under the new guidance, the CDC is reportedly altering the metrics it uses to determine who is required to wear a mask indoors, looking at the risk of spreading COVID-19 versus case counts, while still monitoring virus-related hospitalizations.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a recent White House briefing that "we must consider hospital capacity as an additional important barometer.
"Our hospitals need to be able to take care of people with heart attacks and strokes. Our emergency departments can’t be so overwhelmed that patients with emergent issues have to wait in line."
Currently, approximately 95 percent of counties in the US require masks under the active guidance. The updated guidelines are expected to allow the majority of Americans to ditch the mask in most settings.
“At @CDCgov, we have been analyzing our #COVID19 data and shifting our focus to preventing the most severe outcomes and minimizing healthcare strain,” Walensky tweeted Thursday night.
With vaccinations and booster shots wide administered, across the country, Walensky noted that the risk of severe cases and hospitalizations has gone down dramatically after spiking in mid-January following the holidays.
“Still, #COVID19 continues to circulate in communities,” she wrote on Twitter. “Moving forward, our approach will advise enhanced prevention efforts in communities with a high volume of severe illness and will also focus on protecting our healthcare systems from being overwhelmed.”
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