The press loved the Centers for Disease Control — until it did something they didn’t like. The CDC changed its masking recommendations and suddenly found itself in a firestorm of criticism.
So much for following the science.
The CDC announced that fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks in most cases. Bashing the CDC became acceptable, after a year of claiming the group is the gold standard. Mask advocate and “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski stressed that “If you want to follow the science,” there were times to “still wear the mask.” In her case that meant she stayed masked and angry to even be around a coworker who didn’t have the vaccine.
CNN’s chief political correspondent Dana Bash called the decision “very scary.” Time magazine said it a “baffling, whiplash-inducing decision.” Politico termed the move “a bitter disappointment to unions and other safety advocates.” Newsweek warned of “deadly new variants” under the cover headline of “WINTER IS COMING.”
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The far left just couldn’t accept the CDC ruling. “View” host Whoopi Goldberg asked, “What is it going to take you think for people to get comfortable following not just the science, but their own science, what is comfortable for them?” To her credit, co-host Meghan McCain didn’t let her get away with that and responded with, “I don’t think there’s your own science and then someone else’s science. Science is science.”
McCain called the mask freakout “irrational and emotional.” “But I really implore the same people that told me to follow science for the past year, you follow science as well.”
NBC “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt questioned whether the CDC decision “was perhaps rushed” because of pressure. He then continued that argument and asked the president’s chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci “Would you have preferred that you wait a bit longer?”
FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE CAN DITCH MASKS INDOORS, PHYSICAL DISTANCING: CDC
NBC correspondent Stephanie Gosk followed with more resistance to the science. “But after months and months emphasizing that masks save lives, such an abrupt shift in guidance may create some anxiety.”
The New York Times covered the decision with stories celebrating those still wearing masks. “They’re Vaccinated and Keeping Their Masks On, Maybe Forever,” went one insane story. The latest, “New Honor System on Masks: ‘Am I to Trust These People?’” told how a masked woman still refused to ride elevators with those who weren’t wearing masks.
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It wasn’t just journalists. The news media turned to doctors to criticize the CDC. When conservatives did this, social media sites censored what they did. Now, it’s OK, because the left disagrees.
CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta was highly opposed. He argued that the CDC “made a critical error here in surprising basically everyone with a very significant change.” Gupta claimed that top CDC staff had told him that rule wouldn’t be changed soon. Then he argued for … masking, because “it is so effective and it’s not that hard to do in most situations — just to put a mask on.”
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It’s worth remembering that Gupta told a “CNN Global Town Hall Facts and Fears” on March 5, 2020, that masking was dangerous. He explained to a packed, live and unmasked townhall that masking “may actually become a reservoir when you’re taking it on, when you’re taking it off. You could actually contaminate yourself.”
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PBS “NewsHour” raised the specter of “some outright confusion, anxiety and criticism” about the CDC decision. It turned to an emergency room doctor who wanted a delay. “A few more weeks of masking is not going to hurt us,” cautioned Dr. Megan Ranney.
Turns out, the CDC accomplished two things. It showed the benefits of getting a vaccination and unmasked the media for being anti-science hypocrites.