CDC director urges people to keep masking and distancing 'regardless of what states decide'
The director of the U.S. Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday said she hopes people will decide to individually "do the right thing" about distancing and wearing masks, even in states moving to eliminate restrictions against the CDC's recommendations.
"I think we at the CDC have been very clear that now is not the time to release all restrictions," Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing.
Walensky's comments come after governors of Texas and Mississippi said they were lifting mask mandates and allowing businesses to open at full capacity, starting now or within days.
Public health leaders across the U.S. have urged states to wait at least for far more inoculations and lower cases levels before easing safety measures, pointing to an increasing spread of more-transmissible coronavirus variants that could spark another surge in cases.
Walensky said she "would still encourage individuals to wear masks to do the right thing to protect their health."
"Every individual ... is empowered to do the right thing here, regardless of what the states decide for personal health, for public health, for their health, and their loved ones and communities," she said.
With less than 7% of residents in his state fully vaccinated, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott an executive order Tuesday lifting a statewide mask mandate and allowing businesses to operate at 100% capacity, effective March 10.
The governor said county leaders mitigation strategies if regional COVID-19 hospitalizations rise above 15% of bed capacity for seven days straight. But they cannot impose jail time for people who don't follow COVID-19 orders, nor can residents be penalized for not wearing masks, he said.
In Houston, the chief of staff of the United Memorial Medical Center, said he told his staff to prepare for surges in patients because of the vanishing rules.
"If we open the state on the 10th, I'm telling you, before the end of March, we're going to have problems," Dr. Joseph Varon told CNN's "New Day" Wednesday.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said he was "dumbfounded" by the governor's announcement and pleaded with residents to "act like we do have a mask mandate, for people to continue to wear it, for businesses to continue to require it."
In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves said starting Wednesday the state would lift its county mask mandates and allow businesses to operate at full capacity.
"Our hospitalizations and case numbers have plummeted, and the vaccine is being rapidly distributed. It is time," Reeves wrote about his decision on .
Mayors of some cities, including Jackson and Greenville, said they will keep enforcing citywide mask mandates.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine also announced revisions to public health orders Tuesday, including dropping a 300-person limit for events at banquet centers. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unveiled a series of eased restrictions taking effect Friday, including expanded capacity for restaurants, retail, gyms, stadiums and other facilities.
And in Louisiana, the majority of businesses 바카라 게임 웹사이트 including restaurants and salons 바카라 게임 웹사이트 will be allowed to operate at 75% capacity starting Wednesday, while religious services will no longer have capacity limits, the governor said.
Thirteen states are now .
Testing demand is dropping
It's true that cases are down from their January peak and experts were encouraged by a steady decline in COVID-19 case numbers for several weeks.
But it's important to note two factors: First, the steep weeks-long decline of cases that was reported in the U.S. seems to have leveled off, according to the CDC director. And that plateau comes at still very high numbers -- with the U.S. averaging more than 65,000 new cases daily for the past week.
And second, fewer people appear to be getting tested although COVID-19 testing remains a powerful tool in the country's battle against the virus, according to the CDC.
In the week that ended Monday, the U.S. recorded an average of about 1.5 million COVID-19 tests daily, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.
That's about 26% fewer than the average in mid-January, when the U.S. saw a seven-day average of more than 2 million tests reported.
"Widespread testing must continue in order to defeat the pandemic," Dr. Greta Massetti, from the CDC, told CNN. "It will take many months for all Americans to have the opportunity to receive one of the vaccines available."
"In the meantime, it's essential that people continue to take preventive measures."
More good news for vaccines
So far, more than 51.7 million Americans have received at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to
More than 26.1 million have received both doses, according to the data. That means roughly 7.9% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated against the virus.
The good news: the U.S. will have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for every adult American by the end of May -- speeding up the timeline of the administration's previous goal by two months.
His remarks came as the President officially announced a partnership between pharmaceutical companies Merck and Johnson & Johnson to help expand production of the recently authorized
Governors across the country have said the extra doses will help quickly ramp up vaccinations and some have even announced expanded eligibility guidelines as a result of the added supply.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced that starting Wednesday, all frontline essential workers in Group 3 are eligible to make vaccine appointments, noting that the state also plans to make residents with comorbidities in Group 4 eligible later this month.
North Carolina has created the groups and is already vaccinating Groups 1 and 2 which include, healthcare workers, long-term care staff and residents and older adults.
"The third vaccine and improving vaccine supply will help us get more people vaccinated more quickly," the governor said. "But as we've said before -- we still don't have enough vaccines. You may have to wait for an appointment even if today's action means you are eligible to get vaccinated."
For Americans who have already received a first dose, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine should not replace second doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines except in "exceptional situations," the CDC warned.
"The COVID-19 vaccines are not interchangeable, and the safety and efficacy of a mixed-product series has not been evaluated," Dr. Sarah Mbaeyi, CDC medical officer, said Tuesday. "We don't want people to just start mixing and matching with whatever is easiest to get."
Vaccine guidance coming soon
For Americans who are already fully vaccinated, recommendations on what they should do are on their way.
The CDC will release guidance for fully vaccinated people when it is finalized later this week, a CDC official told CNN.
The official confirmed the broad themes contained in the guidance that were first reported by .
The guidance is reported to include a recommendation that fully vaccinated people limit their social interactions to small home gatherings with other fully vaccinated people.
It reportedly will also recommend that fully vaccinated people continue to wear masks in public and practice social distancing. It's a recommendation that's also been made by other health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Additionally, the guidance will reportedly include scenarios for Americans to consider when making plans, including travel.