Tweet
Osterholm says CDC needs to have the authority to decide mandates
Fargo, ND, USA / The Mighty 790 KFGO | KFGO
Ryan Janke
Apr 22, 2022 | 3:41 PM
...
The Director for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Michael Osterholm, said there are really two parts to the question of the mask mandate for transit being thrown out by the judge in Florida.
“I think the legal aspect of whether CDC has authority to make such recommendations is really critical,” Osterholm said. “Not in the entire history of health in this country have we had a ruling that could limit significantly what a public health agency can recommend or do in the time of a public health emergency or crisis. That would be a really shortsighted mistake to do that. So I hope that from that standpoint, this decision is overturned.”
However, from a pure health standpoint, Osterholm does not believe the mandate as it has existed is effective.
“In terms of the actual mask mandate is the fact that if you’re using an N95 respirator and you actually wear it over your nose and don’t take it off to eat or drink, then the impact of that, both in terms of you transmitting the virus to someone else, if you’re infected or of you becoming infected from someone else, is remarkable, that would be outstanding,” Osterholm said.
That is not how the mandate was being enforced.
“The bottom line is the mask mandate doesn’t require that,” Osterholm said. “What it says is you’ve got to put some kind (of mask) in front of your face. And oh, by the way, if it’s all underneath your nose, so what? Which a quarter of the people do. Oh, by the way, if you’re eating or drinking, you don’t have to wear it. Like somehow the virus is going to take a vacation while you’re eating or drinking. So, from that standpoint, the mask mandate has never made public health sense to me because it’s really extracting a lot of political capital from public health.”...