By The FirstThe CDC is finally moving on from panic mode and relaxing masking guidelines nationwide. According to the Associated Press, “under the new guidelines, the vast majority of Americans will no longer live in areas where indoor masking in public is recommended, based on current data.”
“The new policy comes as the Biden administration moves to shift its focus to preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19, rather than all instances of infection, as part of a strategy adjustment for a new ‘phase’ in the response as the virus becomes endemic.”
The CDC has been slow to relax the guidelines, falling behind the actions of many states who have already kicked COVID restrictions to the curb. Many prominent GOP members believe that the shift in policy has nothing to do with the data and everything to do with the approaching midterm elections. Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have been saying “the science hasn’t changed, the political science has.”
