{"id":504177,"date":"2021-05-13T12:51:06","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T16:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=504177"},"modified":"2021-05-13T12:51:09","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T16:51:09","slug":"cdc-director-i-have-been-completely-forthcoming-about-mask-mandates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cdc-director-i-have-been-completely-forthcoming-about-mask-mandates\/","title":{"rendered":"CDC Director: \u2018I Have Been Completely Forthcoming\u2019 About Mask Mandates"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcdc-director-i-have-been-completely-forthcoming-about-mask-mandates%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=504177&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231786023.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p>In the wake of widespread backlash over a misleading CDC claim about the likelihood of transmitting coronavirus outdoors, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told CNN on Wednesday night that \u201cI have been completely forthcoming about the science\u201d behind mask mandates.<\/p>\n<p>But she evaded a question from CNN asking what data she has to suggest it is \u201cunsafe\u201d to \u201clet people completely unmask and live their lives if they\u2019ve gotten the vaccine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>CNN\u2019s Chris Cuomo prefaced his interview with Walensky by saying the greatest problem with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine is \u201cthe messaging coming from the top\u201d of the Biden administration. He later recounted how the CDC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/cdc-now-says-wearing-a-mask-does-protect-you-from-covid-19\">told<\/a> Americans not to wear a mask before recommending fully vaccinated people to wear a mask outdoors \u201cin crowded settings and venues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The agency\u2019s reversals leave too many people asking, \u201cIs the CDC being straight with us?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The interview came one day after the New York Times pointed out a misleading statement Walensky made at an April 27 press conference, at which she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/press-briefings\/2021\/04\/27\/press-briefing-by-white-house-covid-19-response-team-and-public-health-officials-32\/\">stated<\/a>, \u201cLess than 10 percent of documented transmission, in many studies, have occurred outdoors.\u201d The Times\u2019 David Leonhardt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/05\/11\/briefing\/outdoor-covid-transmission-cdc-number.html\">reported<\/a>, \u201cIn truth, the share of transmission that has occurred outdoors seems to be below 1 percent and may be below 0.1 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During a Senate hearing later on Tuesday, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/cdc-misleading-public-with-outdoor-virus-transmission-figure-report\">told<\/a> Walensky that \u201cthe American people have just lost patience\u201d with the CDC and have started \u201cto disregard what you say is true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A number of legacy media hosts \u2014 including Cuomo, Don Lemon, and Joe Scarborough \u2014 have asked why the CDC demands Americans abide by restrictions that vaccinations should render unnecessary.<\/p>\n<p>When Cuomo asked whether \u201cthe CDC has caused delays that have affected the vaccine effort,\u201d Walensky replied with an incredulous, \u201cWow, absolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have been completely forthcoming with respect to the science, with respect to our guidance, with respect to our numbers, with respect to our cases,\u201d she went on to say in the interview.<\/p>\n<p>She blamed the changing nature of CDC\u2019s guidelines, which critics have called self-contradictory or erroneous, on the fact that \u201cscience is complex.\u201d The underlying data are \u201cevolving\u201d and \u201cupdating \u2014 you know, thousands of studies every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The CDC administrator went on to shift the blame for the CDC\u2019s two-week-old guidance on a meta-analysis published elsewhere. The CDC \u201cuses that medical literature to inform our own guidance,\u201d she said. \u201cThat 10% [figure] was not a data point from the CDC. That 10% was a data point from the peer-reviewed literature \u2026 The Journal of Infectious Diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She did not address the obvious question: Why did a science reporter poke holes in the underlying report when the CDC\u2019s team of taxpayer-funded experts couldn\u2019t?<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Walensky maintained that if you are outside but \u201chave a whole bunch of people piled on top of each other, breathing heavily,\u201d then you can \u201cprobably not\u201d remove masks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if you\u2019re vaccinated?\u201d Cuomo interrupted. \u201cWhy, when we see so few breakthrough\u00a0cases?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need people to get vaccinated. You need to give them more carrots,\u201d he said. Why won\u2019t the CDC \u201clook at the science and say, \u2018The risk is almost <em>de minimis<\/em>. Take the masks off. Live your life.\u2019 and let\u2019s see who gets vaccinated\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>Walensky stuck closely to her talking points, ending two statements in a row by saying, \u201cAnd I\u2019m looking forward to updating our guidance very soon.\u201d She closed the interview by repeating, \u201cI will really\u00a0look forward to updating the guidance and to providing the science that allows us to do so very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cuomo challenged her, \u201cLet\u2019s do it right now on this show.\u201d The science justifies letting vaccinated people remove masks outdoors \u201cright now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the CDC\u2019s \u201ccamp guidance,\u201d requiring children to wear masks outdoors, \u201clooks like it was designed for last year, not this year. And it makes people worry that you guys are going\u00a0to put the brakes on about [reopening school\u201d in the fall. \u201cI don\u2019t know that the Biden administration can withstand having to tell the American people, \u2018You\u2019re not going back to school in the fall,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat data do you have that suggests you need to go slow before you let people completely unmask and live their lives, if\u00a0they\u2019ve gotten the\u00a0vaccine?\u201d he asked. \u201cI know you\u2019re waiting for the data to say it\u2019s safe, but what data do you have that says [sic] it\u2019s unsafe?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walensky dodged his question, reiterating that she wanted to see affirmative proof to \u201cdemonstrate that our vaccines will work\u201d on new COVID-19 variants and \u201cdoes not lead to asymptomatic transmission.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That evasive non-answer is somewhat less than \u201cforthcoming.\u201d According to Tuesday\u2019s Times report, the underlying meta-analysis used to justify the CDC\u2019s April 27 guidance shows only a tiny percentage of transmissions took place outdoors \u2014 a large share of which occurred at construction sites in Singapore, where transmissions could have occurred in enclosed spaces.<\/p>\n<p>The director was no more forthcoming during another interview on Wednesday night with CNBC\u2019s Shepard Smith, who asked her if the CDC had lost its \u201clofty perch\u201d after its fact-challenged pronouncements. She hinted new CDC guidance would be released on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>After the Cuomo segment, fellow CNN host Don Lemon said, \u201cI appreciate what you did with the CDC director.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we get back to some semblance of normalcy?\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/don-lemon-tells-liberals-believe-in-the-science-take-off-your-mask\">asked<\/a>\u00a0on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>MSNBC\u2019s Joe Scarborough also <a href=\"https:\/\/dailywire.com\/news\/cnn-msnbc-turn-on-bidens-cdc\">asked<\/a> the CDC to come on national TV and admit that \u201cit\u2019s next to impossible to catch this outside.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the wake of widespread backlash over a misleading CDC claim about the likelihood of transmitting coronavirus outdoors, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told CNN on Wednesday night that \u201cI &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2278049,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231786023.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"CDC Director: \u2018I Have Been Completely Forthcoming\u2019 About Mask Mandates","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-504177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231786023.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"CDC Director: \u2018I Have Been Completely Forthcoming\u2019 About Mask Mandates","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2278049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}