US nurses' union rips CDC's new mask wearing guidelines, says lives are at risk

US National Nurses United (NNU), the largest labor union representing nurses in the country, has slammed the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for its new recommendation to loosen mask constraints, saying the decision "threatens the lives of nurses, patients and other frontline workers."

The CDC said last week that those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 could safely go most places without a mask and stop socially isolating themselves.

The NNU Executive Director, Bonnie Castillo said in a statement that, "This newest CDC guidance is not based on science, does not protect public health, and threatens the lives of patients, nurses, and other frontline workers across the country."

"Now is not the time to relax protective measures, and we are outraged that the CDC has done just that while we are still in the midst of the deadliest pandemic in a century." 

As life in the US, the world’s worst-affected country by COVID-19, is limping back to normalcy, the CDC  has said vaccinated people "can participate in indoor and outdoor activities," both large and small, without donning face coverings or distancing themselves. 

But the US nurses' union fired back, saying the CDC needs "to fully recognize aerosol transmission and update its COVID-19 guidance accordingly to prioritize measures that prevent and reduce aerosol transmission." 

A sudden loosening this week of federal health guidance on masks has confused Americans, with many saying the guidance's details are perplexing.

Some people in the US questioned the CDC’s abrupt shift in guidance and wondered whether the latest turn was really safe as masking has now become a normal part of American life like in many other countries.

Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio have quickly dismissed the idea, refusing to follow the revised federal advice on going maskless, further confusing people who are still trying to find out what they should be doing to stay healthy.

Some Americans say the new federal guidance leaves an unavoidable hole as there is no national system in the US to check who is vaccinated and who is not.

They say there is no guarantee that unvaccinated people will not discard their masks along with the vaccinated ones, potentially creating a risk that COVID-19 will continue to circulate.

The CDC Head, Dr. Rochelle Walensky reaffirmed the validity of the masking guidance and claimed that the measure was not politically motivated.

"[Vaccines] are effective. They are working in the population just as they did in the clinical trials,” she said.

The CDC chief added that US the federal agencies will not monitor those who fully received the vaccine. According to the agency, this will enable it to better prioritize its resources.

The US nurses' union said, “This means that the CDC is no longer tracking data necessary to understand whether vaccines prevent asymptomatic/mild infections, how long vaccine protection may last, and to understand how variants impact vaccine protection.” 
 

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