Yep, We Need More Blame
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/yep-we-need-more-blame
*snip*
But I wanted to flag another article in the Post to your attention. Its an opinion piece by Leana S. Wen, a physician and former Public Health Commissioner for the City of Baltimore, whos been a prominent public voice during COVID. Wens argument is essentially this: Yes, there seems to be new data that vaccinated people can transmit the virus. But the vast majority of transmission is still being done by the unvaccinated. So why are the vaccinated being asked to mask up again when they are clearly not the main problem?
Let me quote Wen
The CDC is also trying to urge localities and businesses to reimplement indoor mask requirements given surging coronavirus infections. Thats the right policy, but its using the wrong explanation. The vaccinated are not a major source of spread. Even if every vaccinated person puts on a mask, thats not going to solve things when the vast majority of transmission is by the unvaccinated.
And that is the actual problem that the CDC is trying to solve: It wants to get the unvaccinated to put on masks in indoor spaces. Without proof of vaccination, the only way to reliably to do this is to ask the vaccinated to also don our masks. Relying on the honor system was a big fail, and the best way to curb the current surge is to get everyone to mask up again.
Thats what the CDC should have announced: We need a return to indoor mask mandates not because the vaccinated are suddenly a problem, but because we dont trust the unvaccinated to voluntarily do the right thing. Its not a commentary about the effectiveness of the vaccine, or even the trickiness of the delta variant, but rather about the failure of unvaccinated Americans to fulfill their societal obligation to act in the interest of everyones health.
*snip*