As COVID-19 cases drop across the country, mandates are loosened

As COVID-19 cases drop across the country, mandates² are loosened

Transcript³

The number of coronavirus cases nationally have dropped 75% from the highs of mid-January, and more states are dropping indoor mask mandates. California's indoor mask mandate¹ ends Monday.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The number of new coronavirus cases has dropped more than 75% since the highs of mid-January. Hospitalizations in this country are down. And deaths are starting to decline, too. Some of the states that have had the strictest COVID restrictions⁴ are starting to dial back. NPR's Allison Aubrey joins us, as she does most Mondays. Hi, Allison.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Rachel.

MARTIN: So numbers are dropping pretty dramatically at this point. Mask mandates are being lifted. Dare we say there is light shining upon us now?

AUBREY: (Laughter) It seems that way. I mean, there are very few states that still have statewide mask mandates. It seems every day we hear another announcement on plans to end a requirement from Democratic governors, including in New York, Illinois. California is set to end its indoor mask mandate tomorrow. The large retail⁶ chain Walmart ended its masking requirement for fully⁷ vaccinated⁸ employees, unless it's required by a state or local government. But lifting school mask mandates is turning out to be more controversial. Teachers have been pushing back against lifting the mask mandate in California. Oregon's governor has said the mask mandate in schools will be lifted at the end of March. And some pediatric infectious disease experts say it makes sense to keep kids masked for now. Here's Dr. Judy Guzman of Oregon Health & Science University.

JUDY GUZMAN: We know that kids are very good at sharing infectious diseases in the school setting. So we need to see higher immunization rates in kids before we start removing masks.

AUBREY: Kids have become accustomed to wearing masks at school. It's kind of a habit for them. And, Guzman says, at a time when there's still about 2,200 COVID deaths a day and so many unvaccinated kids, there shouldn't be a rush.

MARTIN: And currently, most young children are still not vaccinated, right?

AUBREY: That's right. Only 23% of kids 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated now. And for children under 5, parents are still waiting. On Friday, the FDA canceled a meeting that had been scheduled to review Pfizer's data in children under 5. Advisers⁹ were going to consider data from a clinical trial that included children who had received two doses of vaccine¹⁰. But Pfizer actually asked for the delay after new data showed there had been more infections among kids in the trial amid this omicron wave. So two doses did not appear to provide sufficient protection against infection. Now remember, this is a tenth of the adult dose. Now the FDA will wait for data on a third dose before making a decision about authorization¹¹. This is expected, Rachel, sometime this spring, around April. And given the slower timeline, some experts say it's another reason masking is still helpful in children.

MARTIN: OK. Let's talk about where federal mask mandates are still in place, airports - obviously, if you get on a plane, you still got to wear a mask - trains, other transportation hubs, right?

AUBREY: That's right. The TSA mask mandate is in effect through March 18. As you say, it applies on airplanes, airports, commuter¹² bus and rails. It is unlikely that masks will completely disappear after this. I mean, though masks have become one of the fault lines in our culture war, if you take away the politicization and you just look at the science, there's a lot more known on just how effective high-quality masks, such as N95s, can be against the spread of COVID and other respiratory diseases. That's why Dr. Judy Guzman says going forward, seasonal¹³ masking could become more normal in certain situations.

GUZMAN: Before the pandemic, we would see outbreaks in classrooms for all sorts of viruses, and actually even bacteria - like, things like strep throat. So maybe during outbreaks of things like strep throat in a classroom, adding masking to the response plan could certainly be very effective.

AUBREY: Similarly, people might opt¹⁴ to wear a mask on a crowded metro¹⁵ car, bus or plane even if there isn't a mandate - in the middle of flu season or if there is another COVID outbreak.

MARTIN: So masking in some form may stick around, Allison. But what about all the tracking systems that were put in place to slow the spread of the virus?

AUBREY: You know, I think the way that we are alerted to outbreaks or exposures in our own communities will be forever changed by this pandemic. Early on, the term contact tracing was brand new. Who had heard of that...

MARTIN: Right.

AUBREY: ...This idea of public health workers reaching out to people who tested positive and their contacts to try to contain the spread. At one point earlier in the pandemic, the U.S. had about 70,000 people doing contact tracing. And in places such as Teton County, Wyo., where they've had a very low death rate, contact tracers were able to reach out to every person who tested positive. I spoke¹⁶ to the county's health director, Jodie Pond, who says it made a big difference in her community.

JODIE POND: I think it was very, very effective. We had retired¹⁷ physicians and doctors call people every day to make sure that they were doing OK, that their symptoms were resolving. So it was a whole community effort.

AUBREY: You know, amid omicron, she said, it became impossible to keep up with all the cases. And many contact-tracing programs have scaled back or are now coming to an end. But there's an infrastructure¹⁸ in place now. And it would be possible to bring this back in some form in the event of another outbreak.

MARTIN: Speaking of which, I understand you've been looking into sort of an unusual way that public health departments can spot potential outbreaks, right?

AUBREY: You know, amid the pandemic, scientists have been doing more regular surveillance of wastewater because everyone goes to the bathroom. And this is a way scientists can detect if the amount of virus is rising or falling. And they can even now identify specific variants¹⁹ in the waste. I spoke to Aaron Packman. He's an engineer at Northwestern University. He told me that amid this pandemic, they've ushered²⁰ in massive investments in wastewater surveillance, which has really helped to create a standard way for public health officials to use the data coming from waste.

AARON PACKMAN: This is a really efficient way to get kind of a quick snapshot or an approximate snapshot of infections that may be prevalent in the community.

AUBREY: He envisions that this could be expanded. It's a way to get a kind of quick snapshot or an approximate snapshot of the infections that may be prevalent in the community.

MARTIN: NPR's Allison Aubrey. She joins us most Mondays to update us on the state of the pandemic. Allison, thanks. We appreciate it.

AUBREY: Thank you, Rachel.

(SOUNDBITE OF DUAN WASI'S "NIGHT LINES")

1 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

2 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

9 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

10 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

11 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

12 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

13 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

14 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

15 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

16 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

17 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

18 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

19 variants   

n.变体( variant的名词复数 )；变种；变型；（词等的）变体

参考例句：

• Those variants will be preserved in the'struggle for existence". 这些变异将在“生存竞争”中被保留下来。 来自辞典例句
• Like organisms, viruses have variants, generally called strains. 与其他生物一样，病毒也有变种，一般称之为株系。 来自辞典例句

20 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》