Latest CDC mask mandate guidance based on flawed, dishonest data interpretations... so what's the real agenda?
By arseniotoledo // 2021-08-05
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) latest recommendation that people should wear masks indoors in areas with "substantial" levels of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission is based on flawed and dishonest interpretations of data. This recommendation is for all Americans, regardless of vaccination status. To justify the masking recommendation, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky used the example of Provincetown, a small coastal town in the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Walensky explained that a post-vaccine COVID-19 outbreak that led to hundreds of infections occurred in Provincetown in July. She claimed this outbreak was caused by large indoor gatherings at bars, nightclubs and house parties. The CDC director claimed multiple studies were released backing her conclusion that the indoor gatherings caused the outbreak. But the data from Provincetown contained two startling details Walensky did not bother to point out. First, nearly three-quarters of the infected people in Provincetown – or 74 percent – were fully vaccinated. This aligns well with the vaccination rate of Massachusetts and Provincetown's home county of Barnstable. According to the latest data, 76 percent of residents 12 years old and above in Barnstable are fully vaccinated. Furthermore, 74.8 percent of all residents 18 years old and above in Massachusetts are fully vaccinated. The state is the third most fully vaccinated state in the country. Second, samples taken from the infected residents of Provincetown showed that there was virtually no difference in the viral load – or amount of virus people carried – between the fully vaccinated and the unvaccinated. This proves that the COVID-19 vaccines do not work and that vaccinated people help spread the virus. (Related: Fully vaccinated Americans are SPREADING covid's delta variant, health expert warns.) Scientists have pointed out that it is extremely unethical for the CDC to change its national public health recommendations based on flawed and dishonest interpretations of the data from Provincetown. "They're making these decisions on the basis of extremely weak and unreliable data," said Dr. Vinay Prasad, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. Public health experts have pointed out that this is a recurring problem with the CDC. The agency often relies on disease and virus samples to determine the extent of certain outbreaks as well as vaccination levels in different areas. But the data the CDC collects is never comprehensive and it is never done in real-time. This means the CDC may publish a recommendation based on incomplete data. And even if that guidance turns out to be worthwhile to consider, it may come far too late to actually be helpful.

White House ignoring objections to CDC's flawed data

The administration of President Joe Biden is ignoring the reasonable criticisms the Republican Party has against Walensky and her agency's latest masking guidance. In retaliation for acting on flawed data, Republican senators have introduced a law to prevent this from happening ever again. On Thursday, July 29, 10 Republican senators headed by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida introduced the Restore Public Health Institution Trust Act. According to a press release from Rubio's office, the bill would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review every single decision and messaging the CDC does involving mask mandates. "These guidelines, like most of the Biden Administration's actions these days, make little sense and seem without scientific direction," Rubio added in a statement. "Americans have spent the last year and a half making tremendous sacrifices to halt the virus's spread, but they are confused and have lost trust in our institutions," he added. "The mixed messaging could also degrade trust in the efficacy of vaccines. My bill would bring more transparency to the CDC's decisions, and direct GAO to offer recommendations on ways the CDC needs to improve their decision-making process and the way they communicate recommendations." In the House of Representatives, 21 Republicans led by Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri sent a letter to Walensky saying they do not believe mask mandates will solve the country's current problem with the post-vaccine outbreak. "We are aware many states are currently experiencing a significant increase in COVID-19 infections because of the transmissibility of the [post-vaccine] delta variant," reads the letter. "However, at this time, we believe more stringent mask guidance will be ineffective." The letter pointed out that, if the CDC really wanted people to believe that the vaccines really work, it would not be recommending masks even for the fully vaccinated. Learn more about the unscientific nature of mask mandates by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news. Sources include: WSJ.com CNBC.com NYTimes.com News.Yahoo.com
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