Rochelle Walensky

Masks for Public Health

CDC Not Yet On Board with Ending Masking Requirements

Blue states have joined red ones in ending masking orders as COVID cases plummet, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sticking to its guidance: where transmission is 'high' or 'substantial,' universal indoor masking is recommended.

February 13, 2022 - Reuters

An image of a sign asking people to wear masks during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Omicron Breaks Another Pandemic Record: Hospitalizations

The highly infectious Omicron variant is contributing to a record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. The record set in last winter's surge fell on Tuesday as hospitals suffer from massive labor shortages caused by the variant.

January 16, 2022 - The Washington Post

Mass Vaccination

COVID Vaccination Strategy: What the U.K. and U.S. Could Learn from Israel

Cases are surging in the U.K. despite 68% of its population being fully vaccinated. Experts say that U.K. officials should observe how Israel, with 63% of its population fully vaccinated, managed to reduce transmission after a similar surge.

October 26, 2021 - Bloomberg Prognosis

COVID-19 Pandemic

The Vaccinated Account for 20 Percent of Covid Infections in a Few Hot Spots

All Americans, vaccinated and unvaccinated, are still in this pandemic together.

August 17, 2021 - The Washington Post

Masked Passengers at Rainway Station

Delta Variant's High Transmissibility Prompts CDC to Issue Masking Correction

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, acting on new data that it had yet to publish, changed its masking guidance on July 27 to reflect the prevalence of the virus in specific counties rather than basing it on a person's vaccination status.

August 2, 2021 - The Washington Post

Hospital Signs

Living (and Dying) with COVID: How Many Deaths are Acceptable?

Political analyst Philip Bump asks the "unstated, unpleasant question" that the U.S. has struggled with since the inception of the pandemic, more relevant now with the widespread availability of vaccines that are effective at preventing most deaths.

July 28, 2021 - The Washington Post

Missouri

Pandemic Geography: Missouri Outbreak Driven by Delta Variant

With 65.4% of the nation's adult population at least partially vaccinated, daily new COVID cases have dropped to the lowest level since late March 2020. However, cases are increasing in some states, none more than Missouri.

June 21, 2021 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Mass Vaccination

Vaccination Disparities Between Urban and Rural America

The pandemic has largely been measured by case incidence, down significantly in recent weeks in most states. A new metric, the vaccination rate, may determine where the virus strikes next. The urban-rural divide is a major factor, says the CDC.

May 25, 2021 - CNBC

Coronavirus

Will CDC's Revised Guidance for Fully Vaccinated People Prolong the Pandemic?

The CDC abruptly changed its masking guidance on May 13 to further distinguish behavior for those who are fully vaccinated from those who are not, prompting states, counties and businesses to end indoor mask mandates and social distancing.

May 17, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

Pandemic Public Health

CDC to Gov. Whitmer: Time to Shut Down, Not Surge Vaccines

Michigan is on fire—a coronavirus variant is spreading rapidly among younger people, including children, yet high-risk activities, including youth sports and indoor dining, remain open. CDC Director Walensky addressed the conflagration Monday.

April 14, 2021 - The New York Times

Book in the Park

Fourth Surge May Be a Second Wave

The CDC announced on April 7 that a coronavirus variant first detected in the U.K is now dominant in the U.S. "In some ways, we're almost in a new pandemic," said one prominent public health expert earlier about the more transmissible variant.

April 12, 2021 - The New York Times

COVID-19 Test

CDC Director Expresses a Feeling of 'Impending Doom'

Dr. Rochelle Walensky sounded the alarm during the White House COVID-19 Response Team's press briefing on Monday, warning Americans that the pandemic trajectory in the United States is the same as in Europe. The latter is experiencing a third wave.

March 30, 2021 - CIDRAP News

Back to School September 2020

Reopening Schools: CDC Reduces Social Distancing Requirement

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now supports three-foot distancing in elementary school classrooms provided there is universal masking. For middle and high schools, it depends on the level of coronavirus transmission in the community.

March 29, 2021 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Public Transit

Pandemic Watch: What's Going on in Europe?

A coronavirus resurgence is spreading across much of Europe, forcing Italy into a new lockdown a year after it became the first Western country to resort to the drastic measure. The coronavirus has returned in the form of more transmissible variants.

March 18, 2021 - The New York Times

Coronavirus

Return to Normal: CDC Releases Initial Post-Vaccination Guidance

Millions of fully vaccinated Americans who have been anxiously awaiting new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on what they can now do safely were given initial recommendations that apply only to private settings.

March 10, 2021 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Coronavirus Protest

Pandemic Watch: We've Been Here Before (but at Lower Case Levels)

The White House COVID-19 Response Team explains why governors are wrong to lift mask mandates and ease restrictions by putting the current level of coronavirus infections in the country in perspective, i.e., comparing it to the two prior surges.

March 8, 2021 - The White House

Pandemic Shutdown

Massachusetts Reopens, But Too Early?

Many coronavirus restrictions were lifted on Monday in Massachusetts by Gov. Charlie Baker due to falling COVID cases and hospitalizations, but many experts feel the move is too hasty and could lead to a resurgence in the virus.

March 3, 2021 - Associated Press

Coronavirus

A Fourth Coronavirus Surge is Likely

The plunge in daily new coronavirus cases has ceased and may be climbing again, but the news is brighter when looking at the summer. Most of the public health experts interviewed by The New York Times believe a surge is likely but not inevitable.

March 1, 2021 - The New York Times

Biden administration

The Pandemic Expert in the Biden Cabinet Who is Not on the Biden Health Team

Ron Klain, President Obama's former Ebola response coordinator, will serve as chief of staff to President-elect Joe Biden. This post also looks at all the appointments and nominations for Biden's health team that will devise a Covid response.

December 28, 2020 - The Atlantic

Transit in a Pandemic

The U.S. in Free Fall

The U.S. has over 2.9 million COVID-19 cases; half of them were diagnosed in the past week and a half. On July 6, cases are increasing in 32 states, holding steady in 14, and decreasing in four.

July 7, 2020 - CNN

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