Murthy: ‘We’ve Got to Take Measures to Reduce Spread’ and Masks and Distancing ‘Among Our Most Powerful Tools’ to Do so in Short Time

On Thursday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy stated that “we’ve got to take measures to reduce spread.” And that while it’s important to vaccinate people, “if you’re trying to reduce spread in a short timeframe, in the order of days to weeks, then it is measures like masking and distancing that are among our most powerful tools.” Murthy also argued that “it’s prudent to err on the side of caution.”

Murthy said, “Now, there are circumstances where individuals may want to consider wearing masks, where counties may decide to put mitigation measures like mask requirements back in place. And those would be, for example, if they had a lot of virus circulating, as some communities do. If you’re an individual who maybe has kids at home who are not vaccinated, or you yourself are immunocompromised, those are all circumstances where counties or individuals may decide that they want to wear masks again. I actually think that, in a moment like this, when we’re seeing COVID spreading so widely because of the Delta variant, that it’s prudent to err on the side of caution. Because, again, a lot of people are getting infected right now, primarily unvaccinated, but, again, bears being cautious, depending on your situation.”

He added, “I understand that people are tired of so much of what we’ve dealt with over this past year, wearing masks, not seeing your friends, just going through the uncertainty of COVID. It’s been exhausting for all of us, and we’ve made a lot of progress. But this is one of those moments, Amna, with the Delta variant spreading so quickly, that we’ve got to take measures to reduce spread. And vaccination is important. Look, we’ve got to vaccinate people quickly. But if you’re trying to reduce spread in a short timeframe, in the order of days to weeks, then it is measures like masking and distancing that are among our most powerful tools.”

Murthy further stated that reinstituting mask mandates in places where infections are rising is “a very reasonable step to take.”

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