Dr. Lucky Tran Dec 30, 2022

This is going under the radar, but looks like the CDC guidelines for masking are switching back to COVID-19 Community *TRANSMISSION* levels instead of "Community levels."

That means the CDC now recommends universal masking for **71%** of counties in the US, instead of only 9%.

#COVID #COVID19

Show threadDr. Lucky Tran Dec 30, 2022

As a reminder, earlier in 2022, the CDC changed their COVID maps over to "Community Levels", which is more an indicator of whether hospitals are full, rather than transmission alone. It effectively downplayed the amount of COVID spread.

#COVID #COVID19

Show threadDr. Lucky Tran Dec 30, 2022

Here's a good explanation from the People's CDC about why the CDC "Community Levels" map is problematic, and downplays the state of the pandemic, exposing more people to harm.

https://theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/03/peoples-cdc-covid-guidelines

#COVID #COVID19

The CDC is beholden to corporations and lost our trust. We need to start our own

We’re epidemiologists, nurses and physicians, artists and biologists. We have come together with a common anger at the US government’s handling of Covid

The Guardian
Show threadDr. Lucky Tran Dec 30, 2022

If it's true that the CDC is switching back to COVID community *transmission* for their masking guidelines, that's a good thing because people need to mask when COVID spread goes up, not just when hospitals are full. It also means the CDC is really worried about new variants.

#COVID #COVID19

Show threadDr. Lucky Tran Dec 30, 2022

The other implication of the CDC switching masking guidelines back to COVID Community *Transmission* is that many places can't use the "we are following CDC guidelines" excuse anymore.

Under current CDC guidelines, mask mandates should be in place for 71% of counties in the US.

#COVID #COVID19

Show threadMichael

@luckytran

My epidemiologist friends tell
me that the metric to look at is the "community levels."

Here is the CDC's "Community Levels" map as of today.

The CDC is confusing because it has lots of maps to choose from, some mostly green and come mostly red, but not much interpretation of the practical value of what they mean.

Dec 30, 2022 at 11:07pmWeb
Show threadMike JohnsonDec 31, 2022
@mimarek1 @luckytran Yes, and that's why the CDC apparently switching from using Community Levels to Community Transmission is such a notable change. So notable that I wonder if the CDC's tweet is in error.
Show threadDr. Lucky Tran Dec 31, 2022
@mimarek1 I work in public health and so have been tracking the CDC's changes for a while. Please read the thread. It explains why the Community Level map you shared is problematic, as it's based mainly on hospital capacity. The transmission metric is better for judging risk, so it's good news if the CDC is switching back.
Show threadMichaelDec 31, 2022

@luckytran

The organization I am part of treats Covid Act Now as highly dependable, and that site has not made a change yet.

https://www.covidactnow.org/?s=44463192

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