The CDC has issued a fresh call for Americans to mask-up this holiday season — despite mounting evidence they don’t protect against respiratory viruses.
The new advice came via a video posted to the CDC’s Twitter (X) account, where the agency’s director Dr Mandy Cohen warned about the rise of several respiratory infections and gave advice on how Americans can protect themselves.
She urged people to get their latest Covid, flu and RSV vaccines, adding: ‘Use additional layers of protection like avoiding people who are sick, washing your hands, improving ventilation and — wearing a mask.’
It comes after an expert branded the agency’s approach as ‘outdated’ and unscientific, saying there was now ‘too much evidence’ showing masks do not work for them to keep relentlessly recommending them.
The above shows flu cases in the US. They are up 28 percent in two weeks with about seven percent of swabs detecting the virus in the last week of November, compared to five percent two weeks beforehand
The above shows wastewater surveillance for Covid cases, which also indicates they have risen by about 20 percent in a week
‘We are seeing a lot of respiratory illness like flu, RSV, Covid and pneumonia [at the moment],’ said Dr Cohen, who was sworn in as director in July, in the Twitter video.
‘In the United States, RSV is elevated and flu is continuing to increase in most of the country and Covid is starting to increase again. We are also seeing an increase in pneumonia cases.’
Dr Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told DailyMail.com the CDC was ‘too slow’ to catch up with the science.
The expert, who supported masks at the start of the pandemic, added there was now ‘too much evidence’ supporting not using masks.
Dr Mandy Cohen, the new CDC director, has appeared in a social media video to again urge Americans to mask up
The CDC says masks are recommended in areas that are colored yellow or orange in the above map
Last week, an infectious diseases doctor who advised the UK Government during the pandemic saying there was ‘no proof’ coverings stopped the spread of Covid and warned they and may instead lull people into a ‘false sense of security’.
The director of the UK’s health security agency has also said it was ‘uncertain’ whether masks reduced Covid transmission.
Numerous reviews — including one by the esteemed Cochrane Institute — have failed to find solid evidence masks reduce Covid cases, hospital admissions and deaths globally during the pandemic.
The CDC first recommended face masks in April 2020, after spending several weeks telling people they were not needed.
Dr Cohen did not say where people should wear face masks, but the CDC is currently recommending those who are unwell or know someone who is unwell should consider donning the coverings.
The agency also says that in areas with high Covid hospitalization rates — above 20 admissions per 100,000 people — everyone should consider wearing masks.
This currently includes large areas of Montana and parts of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia — among other states.
The video has been viewed 1.2million times online and wracked up 1,100 shares as well as 399 responses.
The message from the director comes amid warnings of a ‘syndemic’ of respiratory infections this year.
Data shows infections with the trio of Covid, flu and RSV are all on the rise at the moment.
But there are also signs of upticks in other diseases including pneumonia, which is being driven in part by a bacteria called mycoplasma.
Wastewater surveillance for Covid shows infections rose 29 percent over the week to November 29, the latest available.
There were 760 copies of the virus per milliliter of water detected in the latest week, compared to 592 just a week ago.
There has also been an uptick in hospitalizations, up 14 percent in a week over the same period to about 20,000 per week.
There has also been a surge in flu infections with the number of swabs coming back positive having risen 28 percent in two weeks, shifting to seven percent in the week to November 29 compared to five percent two weeks ago.
And for RSV, data is also pointing to a rise in infections, with 16.5 percent of tests returning a positive result for the virus in the week to November 25 compared to 15.4 the previous year — an increase of eight percent.
Officials in Warren County in Ohio — just outside Cincinnati — has reported a spike in pneumonia cases in children partly driven by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
The CDC ‘s face-covering recommendations vary based on the hospital admission level in an area – and 31 states follow suit. Red states indicate those that follow the CDC’s recommendations and tan states indicate those who do not recommend or have limited face mask recommendations
Researchers looked at 78 studies involving more than one million people across the world. Results indicated that surgical masks reduced the risk of catching ‘Covid or a flu-like illness’ by just five percent – a figure so low it may not be statistically significant
There have also been reports of rising pneumonia infections in western Massachusetts and anecdotal mentions from doctors across several states.
A spokesperson for the CDC told DailyMail.com: ‘The science of masking and its impact on SARS-CoV-2 transmission is complex, but the evidence is compelling that wearing masks helps prevent the spread of respiratory disease.
‘Well-fitting, properly used masks reduce the spread of Covid, especially when worn by the majority of the population during times of high community transmission.’
The agency says that when Covid hospital admission levels are low — fewer than 10 per 100,000 people — then ‘people may choose to wear a mask at any time’.
But when levels are medium to high — 10 to 19.9 admissions per 100,000 people — the agency states: ‘If you are at high risk for getting very sick, wear a high-quality mask or respirator.
‘If you have household or social contact with someone at high risk getting very sick… consider wearing a mask when indoors with them.’
When levels are high — 20 or more admissions per 100,000 people — the CDC says everyone should ‘wear a high-quality mask or respirator’ and high-risk individuals should consider avoiding non-essential indoor public activities.
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