Khan says it's now up to communities and individuals to determine what actions to take to protect themselves and those around them. Ali Khan, a former CDC official and now a dean at the University of Nebraska: "There are free vaccines, free masks, free tests and free antivirals." "I think we're moving to a pragmatic strategy, one that recognizes that those who want to protect themselves have every tool available," says Dr. Many public health experts say the shift in guidance makes sense in the context of declining case rates and the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines. You can explore your county's current level using the graphic above. The CDC will release updated county-by-county risk levels weekly on its website, officials said. counties are in this new high-risk category, where mask-wearing is recommended, but these counties account for only 28% of the population. Under the CDC's new metrics, which it's calling "COVID-19 Community Levels" an area is deemed "high" risk if it has concerning levels of COVID-19 hospital admissions and hospital capacity taken up by COVID-19 patients.Ībout 38% of U.S. Though cases are rapidly declining in the country, currently around 95% of counties are still seeing those "substantial" or "high" levels of spread, according to the CDC's older risk metrics, which were based primarily on new cases. What strategy will give me optimal protection? Goats and Soda Coronavirus FAQ: I'm a one-way masker. The agency's new guidelines for assessing community risk, released Friday, weigh hospitalizations for COVID-19 and the proportion of beds occupied by COVID-19 patients in local hospitals more heavily than rates of new infections alone. ![]() And regardless of local conditions, they should mask if they have COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.Īs part of the change, the CDC is dropping its recommendation for universal school masking and instead will recommend masking only in communities at a high level of risk. Health officials emphasized that people should still wear face coverings if they wish or if they are personally at high risk. ![]() But, she added, new risk guidelines that the agency is implementing will help people know when to reach for masks again if conditions warrant it. "We want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing," said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky at a news briefing Friday. citizen, Non-U.S.The move to ease up on masking, federal officials say, reflects current conditions at this phase of the coronavirus pandemic, including widespread immunity through vaccination and prior infection as well as better access to testing and treatments. Nationals, Lawful Permanent Residents, and Immigrants
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