So the CDC is now saying masks should be worn by the vaccinated. Or was it the other way around? No, the wheel was spun and the needle definitely landed on masks this time:
More than a day after issuing new guidance that vaccinated people should wear masks indoors – recommendations that are likely to affect millions of Americans in the form of private and public mask mandates – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has yet to release the data behind its decision. ...
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky explained that the reason for the CDC's reversal on indoor masking for vaccinated people is because "in rare occasions, some vaccinated people infected with the delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and pass the virus to others."
For about a year now, we knew people could catch COVID more than once. For a few months now, we knew the vaccinated could still catch COVID. And we at least suspected they could still pass on the virus to others. And I don't want to get into the quagmire of discussing mask effectiveness, but I will say the general consensus of more or less trustworthy and honest people seems to suggest that masks at least help a little in preventing infected mask wearers from spreading it to others (N95 masks must surely be better, but your average person does not wear those).
But I do not see bodies piling up on the streets, and the one time I did visit my local ER during the height of the pandemic, it was virtually empty. My reality does not match the national hysteria.
Meanwhile, as the vaccine hesitant and skeptics are harassed and ridiculed by the president and the tolerant left, the vaccine is still pending approval from the FDA:
Though the FDA has yet to disclose a time line for when its work will be done, medical experts and sources familiar with the process tell CNN that full approval could come within the next couple of months. While that would amount to a record fast pace, the urgency is rising for a fully approved vaccine given the troubling surge in Covid cases sweeping the country.
PCR tests: I am leaning toward believing the CDC, but given the events and track record of the experts the past year and a half, I am skeptical. From the CDC:
After December 31, 2021, CDC will withdraw the request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel... CDC encourages laboratories to consider adoption of a multiplexed method that can facilitate detection and differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses.
That's a poor choice of words, which set social media on fire. And every government-approved media agency has been on damage control:
[T]he agency was encouraging labs to switch to tests that can also detect influenza at the same time, since it will “save both time and resources.”
But social media users misinterpreted and misrepresented the announcement. False claims circulated on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram that the CDC’s move meant the agency and the FDA had admitted PCR tests do not work. Some posts online falsely said the test was unable to differentiate between coronavirus and influenza, leading to inflated COVID-19 counts and depressed flu counts.
In other news, the 1/6 BigLie circus continues apace:
WATCH: It's all *grins* after the #January6th hearing for Democrats who choked up and teared up earlier.
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) July 27, 2021
Democrats smile, laugh, and shake hands after the "emotional" and "traumatic" hearing. See for yourself.🔻 pic.twitter.com/yml6bVZJX5
In the same way jumping up and down is an attempt to move Earth out of its orbit around the sun. https://t.co/tReFVrkRqm
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) July 28, 2021
