Mask mandate debate: CDC clarifies 'no plans to bring back masks' as COVID cases rise

The fiery debate about the mask mandate has trickled in the United States once again as the highly politicized measure has made a comeback in some places, including businesses, universities, workplaces and schools amid the sudden and unexpected rise of the COVID-19 cases driven by new variant EG.5. 

Kaiser Permanente in California, Rutgers University in New Jersey, Morris Brown College in Georgia, Atlanta College, Lionsgate Film Studio in Los Angeles and several other places in the United States have ordered the students, crew, and staff members to wear a mask again as a part of the "COVID-19 countermeasure." "To ensure that we are helping protect the health and safety of our patients, our workforce and our community, we have reintroduced a COVID-19 mask mandate for physicians, staff, patients, members, and visitors in the hospital and medical offices in the Santa Rosa Service Area," Kaiser said in a statement published on Friday. 

Upstate Medical hospitals in Syracuse, NY, have also announced mandatory masks for all the staff. "These numbers change all the time but there is an upward trend of COVID-associated hospitalizations in our community," Dr. Stephen Thomas, Upstate's director of global health, said in a statement. COVID-19 cases in hospitals are on the rise, he added. "We are nowhere near where we were at our busiest point but we have more patients now than we did a month ago. Fortunately, we are well within our capacity to care for all of our patients," the medical expert stated. 

In the state of Georgia, the novel coronavirus cases are up by a whopping 30%, as per the CDC's latest data. Hollywood film studio Lionsgate, in an internal company memo obtained by Deadline asked all its workers to wear a mask. Health experts are increasingly worried about two new COVID-19 variants — EG.5 and BA.2.86—that's driving an upsurge in hospital admissions. CDC is also tracking the cases emerging from the highly mutated BA 2.86 variant, nicknamed Pirola.

Several people in Santa Monica, California, offices of the Hollywood studio Lionsgate have tested positive. Atlanta, Morris Brown College has announced the ban on large gatherings. In Kentucky, the Lee County School District cancelled the on-person classes on Tuesday and Wednesday and shifted to remote learning as several students complained of flu-like symptoms. 

The pandemic-era restriction has caused panic among the population in the US as masks have been the most controversial COVID-19 mitigation strategies. By August 25, as many as 39 states in the US have enacted these mandates based on CDC recommendations and local case counts, according to the Washington Examiner.  Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis (R-FL), is the only Republican candidate, who during the first debate in Milwaukee addressed the COVID-19 lockdown policy and mask mandates. He vowed that he would "never let the deep state ... lock you down."

But what does the CDC say? 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows a 21.6% increase in hospitalisation across the US, a third of what it was a year ago. But despite the uptick in new COVID-19 cases, "there is no talk of reinstating mask mandates this fall," the CDC told American broadcaster NBC News. However, it added that a COVID-19 vaccine booster will be rolled out on September 12, and that it is in the process of the FDA approval by the CDC vaccine advisory panel. CDC stated that the officials are "working fast" to develop a booster vaccine shot that will be ready by mid-September. 

"Our goal is to release and recommend the vaccine so that it can coincide as much as possible with the peak of the season," Dr. Nirav Shah, CDC's principal deputy director, said in an interview with the outlet. 

"Theoretically, if you vaccinate a lot of people too early, and their immunity wanes even by a couple of percentage points, the peak of the season could have far more significant consequences," he added. 

US Food and Drug Administration "is currently working with vaccine manufacturers to ensure the updated vaccines meet the agency's rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness and quality," an FDA official said in a briefing. CDC's vaccine committee, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, will roll out the shots once the FDA gives the greenlight.