CDC: Reinstate Indoor Mask Wearing Guidance
As a coalition of scientists, public health officials, epidemiologists, health care workers, educators, community advocates, parents, and concerned citizens, we are asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to amend mask guidance in the following ways:
Reinstate mask-wearing guidance in indoor public places until cases of infection in the United States drops to almost zero, (maximum 1/100,000 positive tests in 7 days), and until a sufficient majority (70% at a minimum) of the U.S. population (adults + children) have been fully vaccinated.
Rationale: Covid infections are continuing to circulate throughout the United States and we still need protection from masks because:
About half of the US population is still unvaccinated (including children)
No Children under 12 are vaccinated, and very few children over 12 are.
Covid infection causes not only an acute short term threat up to and including death but also severe, debilitating long haul or long COVID symptoms
When both staff and customers wear masks we protect our essential workers from the unfair work-related risk of contracting COVID-19
Provide guidance (i.e. a common framework) for vaccine verification.
Rationale: The lack of a common framework for vaccine verification is irresponsible. Leaving public health protocols to non-medical and non-public health experts creates undue stress on businesses and service workers. Common guidance will support businesses, schools, and other public places to run more smoothly. It will reduce the challenge for individuals to limit their own exposure to risk from others who may or may not choose to follow the CDC guidelines.
Advise the public to always carry a mask with them, even when outdoors.
Rationale: If a person unexpectedly finds themselves in an unplanned situation, such as a medical emergency, a crowd, or simply needs to go indoors, they will be prepared to keep themselves safe.
Resume reporting all breakthrough infections.
Rationale: As of April 30, 2021, CDC reported 10,262 (known) SARS-CoV-2 vaccine breakthrough infections (Source: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7021e3.htm). Although statistically rare, this affects a significant number of people. The CDC should include reporting breakthrough cases that do not result in hospitalization or death as they contribute to transmission and we do not know yet if they result in Long Covid, collecting this data will contribute to this much-needed research of long-term effects.
Motivation for our petition:
The current CDC guidelines leave the American public, especially the most vulnerable at risk for infection, and therefore there will be more infections. Current recommendations will lead to more loss, hospitalizations, and deaths. Moreover, current guidelines will delay the ending of the pandemic, allowing the virus to circulate. Allowing more transmission leads to more time for additional mutations and imported cases from other countries, which is particularly dangerous as it allows time for vaccine-evading variants to emerge.
CDC’s easing of the indoor masking and distancing mandate for vaccinated people at this time is dangerously premature. While vaccines are effective, as of May 24, 2021, only 49% of the American population was fully vaccinated. Source: https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=USA
Although CDC claims to have strong data supporting their current guidance, on review of the data cited in their Science Brief, it does not adequately address these questions, among others:
How long mRNA vaccine-acquired immunity will last.
How well the mRNA vaccines will perform against emerging variants of concern.
Whether mRNA-vaccinated, infected individuals will be susceptible to Long Covid.
How likely it is that mRNA-vaccinated, infected individuals will develop viral loads sufficient for disease transmission.
How the Johnson & Johnson viral vector vaccine will perform in these regards.
Given the ongoing cases, deaths, disabilities, and hardships resulting from Covid-19 infections, we ask for reinstatement of mask-wearing indoors regardless of vaccine status, guidance for vaccination verification, a recommendation that the public always has a mask on them when in public, and resume breakthrough case identification.