Andy Slavitt, White House senior adviser on COVID-19 response, on Wednesday said that he expects that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for those who are fully vaccinated will “absolutely loosen” in the coming weeks.
Appearing on CNN, Slavitt was asked about the potential confusion that people may have regarding public health measures even after being fully vaccinated, such as the need to continue wearing masks when walking down the street by themselves yet having to remove their face covering when dining indoors.
Slavitt acknowledged that the potential lingering questions for those who have been fully vaccine are “very reasonable,” before signaling that additional guidance is in the works.
After noting that the CDC released guidance last month about what COVID-19 vaccines allow people to do once inoculated, Slavitt said he believes the CDC is in the process of putting together further guidance.
Slavitt added that although updates on the CDC’s guidance isn’t always released “as fast as everyone wants them to be” due to the agency’s diligence in studying data before releasing it to the public, he is “quite confident” that the guidance will “absolutely loosen” for those who are fully vaccinated in the next couple of weeks and months.
“Those guidelines will absolutely loosen, and they are going to be science-based,” Slavitt said.
Slavitt’s remarks to CNN were made hours after President Biden announced that his administration hit its target of administering 200 million coronavirus vaccine shots in his first 100 days in office.
The Biden administration’s initial goal of 100 million shots in the President’s first 100 days in office was achieved last month.
The administration then set a new goalpost of 200 million, which the President touted was achieved by his 92nd day in office while addressing the nation on Wednesday.
“This is an American achievement — a powerful demonstration of unity and resolve, what unity will do for us, and a reminder of what we can accomplish when we pull together as one people to a common goal,” Biden said.
The President additionally announced a new tax credit that incentivizes small businesses to offer time off to employees getting vaccinated, which also give staffers time to recover from any potential side effects. The tax credit is funded by the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed last month.
“Every employee should get paid leave to get a shot, and businesses should know that they can provide it without a hit to their bottom line,” Biden said.
Watch Slavitt’s remarks below:
WH senior adviser for Covid response Andy Slavitt on efforts to address vaccine hesitancy: “These are people who have questions about the vaccine that they want answered and we need to treat those questions with respect and legitimately and get them straight answers.” pic.twitter.com/aEw2o1UP2Z
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) April 21, 2021
