White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday took questions from ABC's Karen Travers as to seeming contradictions in the CDC guidance as regards vaccinations, masking, and human beings getting together.
Psaki answered the question by saying that the recommendations issued had to do with grandparents, and private homes, and not schools or workplaces.
"Well, these guidelines," Psaki began, "I don't want to get over my skis here, I am not a doctor, but these guidelines were very specific for recommendations made to people's homes, so Karen you and your husband and your kids can engage with and have dinner with your neighbors when everybody's vaccinated."
"Question on the CDC guidelines yesterday," Travers said, "obviously very big news for families."
"Yes!" Psaki exclaimed.
"But the message that we heard from officials was all about families. We didn't hear anything about school reopening tied to these guidelines. If vaccinated grandparents can be with their unvaccinated children, without masks, how do you apply those same standards to schools?"
"That is certainly a positive step forward for many, many, many Americans. These were not guidelines for a workplace. Whether it is the White House or a business or a school. There were guidelines provided of course for schools, and I think the CDC sees it as imperative that they take different circumstances looking at the very specific engagements, the number of people the risks as they factor in what guidelines they're going to put forward," Psaki said.
Travers asked "When will we guidelines, as more people get vaccinated, applied to schools, or applied to workplaces, with these same standards."
"Well, they will continue to review," Psaki continued, dodging specifics, "as Dr. Walensky has said, there's a greater opportunity to make recommendations that will allow people to spend time to hug, grandparents, cousins, teachers, and certainty that's all of our hope. But they look at all the factors, including the impact of variants, as she talked about when she rolled this out. And make recommendations based on how to keep the public safe. And y'know there is a concern that has been raised by all of our medical experts about not taking our foot off the gas here.
"We are close, relatively so, given the last year we've been through, and they put out these guidelines because they feel comfortable that, y'know about the data they have, as it relates to vaccinated individuals, but of course they must continue to analyze data, look at health and medical advice, talk to the doctors at the CDC before they make additional recommendations."
On Monday, the CDC released new guidelines for social interactions that they deem permissible among those who have been vaccinated. The CDC said that people who have been vaccinated can get together in small numbers, with those in other households, and without social distancing. This includes groups where some have been vaccinated, but those who are not from vulnerable groups have not been vaccinates.
The CDC said that "fully vaccinated grandparents can visit indoors with their unvaccinated healthy daughter and her healthy children without wearing masks or physical distancing, provided none of the unvaccinated family members are at risk of severe COVID-19."
"This guidance represents a first step toward returning to everyday activities," the CDC declared.
It is unclear why, if teachers are prioritized for the vaccine, as the teachers unions demanded and for which the Biden administration advocated, vaccinated teachers could not return to classrooms and teach students properly.
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