'We Are Not There Yet': As States Drop Mask Rules, the C.D.C. Stands Firm

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/09/health/mask-rules-cdc.html

But the slow deliberations, within both the C.D.C. and Mr. Zients’ team, are putting the White House in a tough spot. As officials examine the science and chart a careful course, they run the risk of making the Biden administration look irrelevant as governors forge ahead on their own.

“The administration needs to read the room and see that nearly all elected leaders are moving on without them,” said Dr. Leana Wen, a former Baltimore health commissioner who has often been critical of the administration, adding, “No one is expecting the C.D.C. to say that everyone should go maskless right now. What they are looking for are clear metrics on when restrictions can be lifted and when they may need to return.”

Governors have said so themselves. Last week, after a bipartisan group of governors met with Mr. Biden, Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, a Republican, told reporters he had emphasized to the president that the nation needs to “move away from the pandemic” and asked him for “clear guidelines on how we can return to a greater state of normality.”

It is now clear the states have decided not to wait. On Wednesday, the governors of New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Illinois joined a growing list of Democrats who have dropped either a general statewide mask mandate or one that applies to schools.

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I posted about this earlier in the week (https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216327912) . The White House is trailing both the states and the public on this issue. It seems to be an unnecessary own goal.