CDC director: We want to give people 'a break' from mask wearing when metrics improve

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said that although the agency is not changing mask guidance just yet, it is reviewing its recommendations and shifting its focus toward hospitalizations as a key metric for determining tighter pandemic protocols, CNBC reported Wednesday.

"We must consider hospital capacity as an additional important barometer," Walensky said during a Wednesday COVID-19 response briefing. "We want to give people a break from things like mask wearing when these metrics are better and then have the ability to reach for them again should things worsen."

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.