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Washington
CNN
—
It’s a confusing time, again, in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consider this: Covid-19 cases are rising in the United States, driven by the most transmissible variant of the coronavirus to date. Reinfections are also on the rise and can increase the likelihood of new health problems. Even President Joe Biden has contracted the virus, forcing him to work in isolation from the White House.
Each of these developments is alarming in its own way. But none of them seem to have shaken the public conscience the way previous pandemic news may have. In CNN’s latest national poll, Covid-19 was top of mind for just 26% of voters, far behind the economy, abortion and the climate crisis.
There’s a good reason for that: A significant proportion of Americans are vaccinated — though the percentage who received a booster shot is lower — and there are new treatments offering better outcomes for those who catch the virus. Despite Biden’s age putting him at risk for severe Covid-19, for example, due to these advances, his experience with the coronavirus is expected to be very different from that of President Donald Trump, who was in hospital for days. in October 2020. (Biden, who received a double boost, is receiving the antiviral Paxlovid, and his doctor wrote Sunday that his “symptoms continue to improve significantly.”)
But with a sub-variant that can thwart vaccination or immunity to recent Covid infections, our days of Covid-19 shelving can be numbered.
Take Los Angeles, for example, the second most populous city in the United States. Health officials say LA County’s high Covid-19 community level means a universal indoor masking mandate could be enacted as early as this week. While daily reported cases have leveled off, with about 6,700 new cases per day, Public Health Department Director Barbara Ferrer said last week that the community level needs to drop back down to “medium” by July 28 to prevent an indoor mask requirement from occurring on July 29.
And it’s not just LA that’s reacting to rising cases and hospitalizations. The share of the US population who live in a county with a “high Covid-19 community level,” where the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal indoor masking, has doubled in the past two weeks. And as Americans have moved to faster home testing, the official case count reflects only a fraction of the true disease burden.
That’s why there’s new talk about indoor masking, with Boston, for example, issuing a new mask advisory earlier this month. But much depends on local politics, and the merits of such measures — particularly mandates — remain a matter of debate.
For more on this, we turned to Dr. Leana Wen, CNN medical analyst and professor of public health at George Washington University. Our conversation, conducted by email and lightly edited for smoothness and brevity, is below.
What matters: Does the recent rise in Covid-19 cases call for the return of indoor mask mandates?
MAGNIFYING GLASS: There is a big difference between a recommendation for individuals to mask up and a mask requirement imposed by the government. Government requirements for public health precautions should be used sparingly, for emergencies where there is no other option. This is not the moment.
I worry about eroding trust so that when a mask mandate is actually needed – if there is a far more deadly variant or if hospitals are overwhelmed again – there will be no appetite to accept mitigation measures at this stage.
What matters: What should lawmakers consider when assessing whether to implement indoor mask mandates again?
MAGNIFYING GLASS: There are now tools other than mask mandates. It’s not 2020. I would advise lawmakers to use other tools that are very effective in reducing the risk of serious illness, but don’t come with such a backlash – for example, why not boosters surge and Paxlovid? Why not encourage testing before meetings?
What matters: On an individual level, at this point in the pandemic, when should we mask up and when can we leave it off?
MAGNIFYING GLASS: It depends on the individual and how much they want to continue to avoid Covid-19. Those who prioritize avoiding infection should continue to wear masks – but make sure they use an N95 or equivalent (KN95 or KF94), that it fits properly and that they use it in all indoor public spaces.
Many are no longer prioritizing avoiding Covid, as they are well protected against serious illnesses through vaccines and treatments; they may not wish to put on their masks even with high levels of transmission around them. That’s why government mask mandates don’t make sense at this point in the pandemic.
What matters: Do you have anything else to add on this subject?
MAGNIFYING GLASS: It is both true that masks reduce the risk of transmission of the virus and that mask requirements are highly controversial. I urge lawmakers to focus on tools that don’t elicit such public backlash and that make as much – if not more – of a difference than government-mandated masking.