January 1, Fauci Defends New CDC Guidelines

Dr. Anthony Fauci defended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recent decision to reduce the recommended COVID-19 quarantine time to five days for people who are asymptomatic.

In the CDC’s press release regarding the change, the organization cited science as the reason for the update. But Fauci, the Biden administration’s chief medical adviser, said there was a need to reduce the isolation period to get people back to work.

“The reason is that now that we have such an overwhelming volume of cases coming in, many of which are without symptoms, there’s the danger that this is going to have a really negative impact on our ability to really get society to function properly,” Fauci told Morning in America.

“The CDC made a decision to balance what’s good for public health at the same time as keeping the society running,” he continued.

The decision, Fauci said, strikes a balance of keeping Americans safe without “drain[ing] society of their very critical workers.”

“It’s not 100% risk-free but then again nothing is 100% risk-free,” Fauci said.

Fauci said asymptomatic people leaving isolation after five days should mask diligently around others and when they return to work. 

“Let them go out with a mask being careful so that they can fulfill their job in society to keep society going smoothly,” he said. 

Fauci’s comments come after the CDC’s guideline update faced some criticism.

Last week, former Surgeon General Jerome Adams advised the public against following the guidance.

“I love the CDC. Grew up wanting to work there and have been one of their most ardent defenders. I never dreamed the day would come when I would advise people NOT to follow their guidance,” Adams tweeted on Tuesday. “They wouldn’t even follow it for their own family.”

Source:

Fauci defends CDC guidelines, says ‘We’re still in the middle of a pandemic’