On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced a new mask guideline for students, teachers, and staff in K-12 to wear masks regardless of vaccination status, as well as in certain indoor settings, again, also regardless of vaccination status. The move was met with swift criticism, especially and including from former President Donald Trump. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), though, takes issue with the data used to justify the new guidelines.
The study that influenced this decision? It followed healthcare workers who were vaccinated with a vaccine NOT EVEN APPROVED IN THE U.S.
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) July 28, 2021
That’s right. So they’re not even using a comparable case study that can be applied to vaccinated Americans.
And here is the real kicker: the Administration has NO EVIDENCE proving vaccinated people transmit the virus. Zero. None.
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) July 28, 2021
They even admit it! Read their pathetic justification: pic.twitter.com/JzxeaN6EWn
The “party of science” isn’t listening to science. They never have. This latest mask guidance is proof.
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) July 28, 2021
But Democrats don’t care. Because this isn’t about public health. It’s about public control.
The excerpt Rep. Crenshaw references comes from Andrew Joseph's article published by STAT, "CDC Again Recommends Indoor Masking, Even for Some Vaccinated People."
The excerpt in question reads:
An administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told STAT that health experts do not have studies proving that fully vaccinated people are transmitting the virus. Rather, the official said, the updated guidance is based on studies showing that vaccinated people who contract the Delta variant have similarly high levels of virus in their airways, which suggested that they may be infectious to others. With other variants, vaccinated people had substantially lower levels of virus in their noses and throats compared to unvaccinated people.
Joseph also wrote:
The CDC says breakthrough cases still appear to be rare given how many people have been vaccinated, and the vast majority of infections are asymptomatic or mild. It’s also thought that because so many of those cases are so tame, many go undetected. However, many experts argue that breakthrough infections that cause no symptoms shouldn’t really be considered as cases. Mild or asymptomatic breakthrough infections are signs that the vaccines — whose top aim is to stave off death and severe illness — are doing their job, experts stress.
Guidelines on masks have been met with particular drama in the U.S. House of Representatives, after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reimposed a mask mandate on the House floor.
The new CDC mask guidance is the final political nail into the credibility coffin of public health.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) July 27, 2021
As Carson covered, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) gave a particularly impassioned floor speech about the absurdity of the mask mandate, especially while illegal immigrants testing positive continue to come to this country via the southern border.
On Wednesday, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) was trending on Twitter after the congressman used his time to call out House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for being "immature" and using "cheap political points" when it comes to McCarthy's opposition of mask mandate.