Kristi Noem Throttles CDC on Revised Masking Guidance

Scott Morefield | July 27, 2021 9:15 PM

Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem blasted the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in a Tuesday tweet for revising their position on indoor masking again before defiantly declaring that her state would not be "mandating anything."

"The CDC shifts their position AGAIN," Noem tweeted. "South Dakota's cases remain low. If you're worried about the virus, you're free to get vaccinated, wear a mask, or stay at home. But we won't be mandating anything. And the CDC's inconsistency doesn't help the American people."

The CDC shifts their position AGAIN.

South Dakota's cases remain low. If you're worried about the virus, you're free to get vaccinated, wear a mask, or stay at home. But we won't be mandating anything. And the CDC's inconsistency doesn't help the American people.
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) July 27, 2021

In a shift from its May guidance that the fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks indoors, the CDCs revised recommendations, released Tuesday, call for indoor masking regardless of vaccination status in areas of "substantial or high transmission" as well as masking for all students and staff while indoors in K-12 schools.

Meanwhile, as Townhall managing editor Spencer Brown reported Tuesday, the much-ballyhooed Delta variant, despite causing a rise in cases, isn't even among the top several causes of death in the United States.

For the week ending July 23, the 7-day moving average of new deaths was 223. Mortality data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics and the American Heart Association put the daily death averages — calculated by taking the latest available annual numbers and dividing by 365 — in perspective that ought to calm our panic-inciting "experts," lockdown- and mandate-prone officials, and their media allies.

For example, each day 2,380 Americans die from cardiovascular disease — 405 per day due to strokes alone. More than 1,680 Americans sadly lose their battle with cancer each day. 474 die from unintentional or accidental injuries. 332 die from Alzheimer's. 240 lives end due to complications from diabetes.