Los Angeles County, California, is at high risk for COVID-19 with the House of Representatives and Senate Minority Voting Measurements
Chris Jackson told me in an email that most Americans had a practical attitude towards masking requirements. “When people felt at risk of COVID they wore masks and were supportive of requirements. Most people feel the risk to them is low so they’re not wearing masks.
“There’s been a lot of attention directed to patients at higher risk of the complications of all of these illnesses – older persons, people who have any underlying illness, anyone who has immune compromise – I think, during this surge of this tridemic, if you will, there’s been a lot of ‘dust off your mask. Dr. Schaffner is a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University Medical Center and the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
The federal government is moving in the opposite direction when it comes to vaccines. The House on Thursday passed a defense bill that rescinds a Covid vaccine requirement for members of the military.
Los Angeles County is at a high Covid-19 community level, but it hasn’t hit all three indicators that would trigger a mask mandate, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday.
About 5% of the population lives in a county with a high spread, according to the CDC director. CDC’s county-level data suggests more than two-thirds of Americans live in an area with low transmission, but that cases are rising.
Covid-19 and Face Masks: Why People Shouldn’t Hiding Their Faces at Home when They Are Sick or Getting a Flu Shot
Staying up to date on the Covid-19 vaccine and getting a yearly flu shot is important for people against the triple threat, said Walensky. Please stay at home when you are sick.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the outgoing director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser, also talked about the need to mask up during his final White House briefing in late November.
He reiterated that sentiment in an exit interview with NBC News, where he suggested that people should mask where appropriate, but was careful to say it’s only a recommendation.
“I am not talking about mandating anything,” Fauci said. It is common sense to say, ‘You know, I really do not want to spread it to anyone who is vulnerable in my family.’
“No, it shouldn’t be,” Fauci said. “I know sometimes when you walk in and you have a mask and nobody has a mask, you kind of feel guilty. You shouldn’t feel guilty.”
More than two-thirds of Americans said they were never wearing a mask outside the home. Only 4% of them said their employer required mask wearing.
The mask requirements may have driven skepticism of public officials. Nearly half, 45%, agreed in the Axios-Ipsos survey with the idea that public health officials lied to the public about the efficacy of masks and vaccines at preventing the virus’ spread.
The last time Ipsos asked about support for mask requirements was in July, when 45% supported local government requirements, down from more than two-thirds support in January 2022.
Months after most mask requirements have come to an end and many people have stopped wearing them, some of the nation’s leading health experts are encouraging people to put their face masks back on – but this time, it’s not just because of Covid-19.
New Flu Hospitalizations in New York City: Implications of a New Health Guidance for Covid-19 and a Recommendation on Face Masking
“I don’t want to go to mandates because I think over much of the United States, you will get a lot of pushback, and people will ignore it. Public health recommendations have to be acceptable,” he added.
The county has 258 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people and 14.8 hospitalizations per 100,000 people but continues to stay below the “high” level of staffed Covid patient beds, at 6.9%, she said.
We haven’t reached the threshold where the CDC would say “you really need to start worrying about your hospital system,” but we’ve reached that level, which is creating a lot of risk. The time to mitigate the risk is now.
Every community has been looking at the same guidance, considering whether they are approaching high levels and might have to consider universal masking again, Freeman said.
“Now, I say all that based on the pure facts of the guidance, but I do think that has the possibility again of turning into a political divide in community by community where elected officials and others may or may not wish to see universal masking reimplemented. She said we will have to see if there is a legal divide again. There is not a lot of appetite to re-implement some of the original efforts.
Over the past three weeks, New York’s flu hospitalizations have more than doubled, and lab-confirmed flu cases have nearly tripled, according to the letter.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/08/health/face-mask-recommendations-rsv-flu-covid/index.html
The Commission on the Study of the Covid-19 Epidemic Activity in the State of New York and its Report to the Center for Disease Control
The commission encourages schools to use the local departments of health as partners in this work. “Together, we will ensure that all students in our state have a healthy and safe holiday season.”
The metrics for US counties are based on factors such as new Covid-19 hospitalizations, hospital capacity and new Covid-19 cases. Rochelle Walensky said on Monday that the agency was looking into revisiting the community levels and possibly data on other respiratory viruses.
“It’s something that we are actively looking into at CDC. She said that if you want to put a mask on then you should not wait for CDC action.
Covid-19 hospitalizations are starting to tick up after Thanksgiving: More than 34,000 people were admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 in the past week, up 20% from the week prior, according to the CDC. Over the next month or so, the CDC predicts an increase.
About 1,800 Covid-19 deaths were reported to the CDC in the last week of November, and ensemble forecasts that predict Covid deaths will remain steady for the next month or so.