SAN FRANCISCO — With the omicron surge fading fast and people clamoring for a return to pre-pandemic life, public health officials in California and beyond are facing new pressure to relax mask and vaccine safety rules.
But many remain wary of declaring victory, aware that new variants are possible in the months ahead. Hopes for a definitive end to the pandemic have been dashed many times, they say, and it would be unwise to drop both masking and vaccine requirements when such uncertainty remains.
Instead, health officials are urging smaller steps.
“This phase of the pandemic is nearing its end. I think that’s clear,” University of California, San Francisco epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford said at a campus meeting last week. “What variants emerge after that is really pretty much anyone’s guess. … There’s just no predicting them, unfortunately.”
www.arcamax.com/currentnews/newsheadlines/s-2629414
Two years into the pandemic, politicians are still getting tripped up over face masks, lockdowns and other restrictions intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus – sometimes rules that were put in place by the politicians themselves.
Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is at the center of the latest coronavirus-related firestorm, after she posted a photo of herself sitting with a group of elementary school students who were all masked; Abrams was not. The photos became a target for her Republican opponents and right-wing critics, who have called her a hypocrite (and worse), despite the fact that GOP politicians have similarly flouted mask mandates or actively sought to prevent protective measures from being implemented.
David Perdue, who is running in the Republican primary against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, blasted both Abrams and Kemp in a statement, saying that “Abrams’ hypocrisy knows no bounds” and that “Kemp has failed students and parents by allowing liberal school districts to force mask mandates upon them.” He has vowed to end mandates if he is elected.
www.chron.com/news/article/Two-years-into-pandemic-politicians-still-16839337.php