CDC's new recommendation for vaccinated people to resume wearing masks faces intense backlash

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In media news today, PolitiFact declares that claim Biden, Harris distrusted COVID vaccine under Trump is 'false,' an ESPN writer says he was troubled by the American flag at the Tokyo Olympics, and Biden calls a reporter a 'pain in the neck' following her question about the vaccine mandate for VA front line workers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention faced major backlash on Tuesday for announcing its recommendation that vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors.

The CDC announced plans to recommend that some vaccinated people should resume wearing masks indoors "under certain circumstances." This followed with an additional recommendation that everyone in K-12 schools should resume wearing masks regardless of vaccination status.

This announcement came one week after the CDC previously stated it had "no plans to update" its mask recommendations, though CDC panels recently recommended "fully vaccinated, immunocompromised patients" should continue wearing masks.

Backlash to the decision was came from people of all backgrounds, including: doctors, journalists, and politicians who criticized the CDC for what they called to be an about-face move from the organization.

CDC TO RECOMMEND MASKS FOR SOME VACCINATED PEOPLE IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS 

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted, "Hell no. This is politics, not science."

Ohio Republican U.S. Senate candidate and author J.D. Vance highlighted the mixed messaging coming from the government agency.

"CDC: It's extremely important to get the vaccine. It saves lives and will allow us to get back to normal," Vance tweeted. "Also CDC: Even if you get the vaccine, you don't get to have a normal life."

Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds released a statement where she called the CDC mask guidance "Not grounded in reality or common sense."

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw previously called out the mask recommendation in comments to Fox News with regards to schools.

"It isn't based in science. There is no indication that areas with mask mandates have performed any better than areas without mask mandates. In fact, this policy could actually backfire," Pushaw commented.

Medical professionals also called the messaging from the CDC on masking is "astonishingly bad."

"CDC messaging is astonishingly bad here. Instead of clearly articulating the problem which is 80 million adults have chosen not to get vaccinated and they are largely also unmasked, CDC suggests that the problem is rare transmission from vaxed to unvaxed people. This is so wrong, Jonathan Reiner, a professor of Medicine and Surgery, responded.

Additional criticism on the CDC's decision was described as "punishing people who got vaccinated."

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The White House announced that it is ready to comply with the new recommendations. 

"I think the clear data shows that this pandemic is killing, it is hospitalizing, and it is making people very sick who are not vaccinated. That still continues to be the case regardless of what the mask guidance is," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded. She maintained that "the vaccines work."