On Friday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen responded to mask mandates in some schools, saying, “We’re not trying to protect people from what they’re seeing out in the community.” “I would like people to respond to the current situation and make sure that they are wearing masks.” We are protecting ourselves. She also added, “Masks are one of the solutions people can choose to protect themselves from this virus. It’s important to know your own risks. Are there any of you out there? In that case, you should use more layers of protection.”
Co-host Sarah Sydner said, “Due to recent outbreaks, some school districts are requiring masks again. Is that good policy? Returning to masking at this point is something that should happen. Is not it?”
Mr. Cohen replied: “We are in a different place than before. The state of emergency has been lifted, but the coronavirus is still here. And we know we have the tools to protect ourselves. The vaccine is We’ve talked about one thing, and we hope you all get the latest vaccines. But we also have others: testing, treatment, and other common sense solutions. And yes, masking is one of the solutions people can choose to protect themselves from this virus. It’s important to know your own risks. Do you know anyone who is elderly or has underlying health conditions? Are there people? Then we need to use more layers of protection. The fact of the matter is, we have the tools. We need to use them. And we need people to protect themselves. We’re going to keep talking about how.”
Sydnor then asked, “Do you think this is a good recommendation that schools should be wearing masks right now?” As I said, there are some schools, I think Maryland is one of them, where they’re saying, “Okay, now you have to wear a mask again.” ”
Mr. Cohen replied: “Look, we want people to react to what they’re seeing on the ground in their communities and make sure they’re protecting themselves. We want people to know that they have the tools they can use. We want people to know that. But there’s more than just masks. Remember to ventilate, don’t forget to get vaccinated, wash your hands, and stay home if you’re sick. are layers of tools that we currently have, and we want to enable people to use those tools and support them in any way we can.”
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