CDC shift on COVID risk assessments may ease mask rules

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to move away from counting new cases as its primary measure of how severe COVID-19 outbreaks are around the U.S., and instead focus on how many people are hospitalized, according to people familiar with the matter.

The changes, which are due to be announced Friday, would shift how the agency assesses risk from the virus. With more than 64% of Americans fully vaccinated and many having already been infected, it would emphasize the burden on hospitals and the rate of severe cases, as opposed to overall case levels.

The result would likely be fewer places where Americans are advised to take precautions such as mask-wearing. Currently, the CDC recommends that in areas of “high” or “substantial” transmission that “everyone should wear a mask in public, indoor settings.”

Currently, the CDC considers counties that have recorded more than 100 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in the past week, or that have a test positivity rate of 10% or above, to have “high” transmission. According to the agency, 82% of the country fits that definition, even though new daily cases have plunged to their lowest level since before the most recent wave began.

Details of the change were described by two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. President Joe Biden is likely to reference his administration’s handling of the pandemic during his State of the Union address next week. Details of plan were reported earlier by ABC News.

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the administration had been reviewing its COVID-19 guidance and was “preparing to stay ahead of the virus, protecting our most vulnerable, keeping our country open.”

That includes “how we’re going to ensure that vaccines, boosters, tests, treatments, and other important components of our medicine cabinet are available,” Psaki told reporters in Washington.