Read on Twitter
Wanted to tweet on masking as getting a lot of interest in this today (I am not a ventilation scientist; I am just an epidemiologist/ID doctor who can see from epidemiology studies how low risk outdoor transmission is). #1, Indoor masking is important when case rates high; wrote
many papers on this over the pandemic including with experts like @linseymarr. But study after study showing how low risk of outside transmission is which led to CDC recommendation of not masking outdoors when vax & many experts to not mask outside at all unless in large crowd.
Those studied summarized by multiple people in multiple threads & we summarized some in this WSJ article below which is why so many now calling on @CDC to remove mask requirements for unvaccinated children outdoors. https://www.wsj.com/articles/take-off-your-mask-and-go-outside-11619631659
In terms of inside masks, think removal of those mandates should be linked to adult vaccination rate since increased adult vaccination rate decreases case rates in community: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.26.21254394v2
Indeed, that is the concept of what herd immunity is- we protect the unvaccinated (in this case children) by getting more & more members of the public around them immune. Children protected by low case rates; we are protected by vaccination
So, when should CDC remove recommendation for indoor masking which will lead to states removing mask mandates who haven't? 3 possibilities
1) Can link it to hospitalizations for COVID-19 + certain vax rate https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/04/07/covid-vaccine-lift-restrictions
1) Can link it to hospitalizations for COVID-19 + certain vax rate https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/04/07/covid-vaccine-lift-restrictions
2) Or can link it to when everyone >16 has chance to get their 2nd dose of vax + a low case rate (2 cases/100K or 20/million?)
3) Or can link it to 70% 1st vaccination rate in adults per President Biden's speech May 4 + low case rate
Clear metrics helps motivate public to vax
3) Or can link it to 70% 1st vaccination rate in adults per President Biden's speech May 4 + low case rate
Clear metrics helps motivate public to vax
