Some of the talks included officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A federal health official reported that the CDC is itself separately examining whether to update its masking guidance.
Any changes to federal or CDC policy will reportedly include mandating masks even for fully vaccinated individuals. (Related: VAX SCAM REVEALED: Los Angeles County brings back mask mandates, even for the vaccinated.)
Under the CDC's current health guidelines, fully vaccinated Americans do not need to wear face masks in most settings. But a federal mask mandate remains in place for airlines and many forms of interstate public transportation.
The reports from the White House come from at least six people who are familiar with the discussions and spoke with the mainstream media under the condition of anonymity. The White House has not denied that these talks have been taking place. But officials did claim that the federal government wants to maintain a "hands-off approach" and leave mask policy up to the CDC.
"At the White House, we follow the guidance and advice of health and medical experts," claimed White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz.
"Public health guidance is made by the CDC, and they continue to recommend that fully vaccinated individuals do not wear a mask," he said. "If you are not vaccinated, you should be wearing a mask."
Potential changes to mask policy still unclear
It is still not clear what updates the White House and the CDC want to push through in their masking policies. An official privy to the discussions said the talks are still in their preliminary stages. The result could be "as simple as new messaging" from the White House and the CDC reiterating their recommendation for people to wear masks.
One of the options the CDC is reportedly considering is mandating masks even for fully vaccinated Americans. According to some officials, the proposal would strongly recommend masks in indoor public spaces where vaccinated and unvaccinated people might mix. These public spaces would include malls and movie theaters.
Another idea that has been floating around in the discussions involves vaccine passports. This proposed plan would require Americans to provide proof of vaccination before they are allowed entry into businesses. This is unlikely to be implemented. The White House seems to understand that it is very unpopular and would lead to significant backlash and possibly even some legal challenges.
Federal health officials have stated that no final decision regarding mask policy has been made and that the CDC is still considering all options.
"At this time, we have no intention of changing our masking guidance," said CDC spokesman Jason McDonald in a statement.
Also unclear how new mask policies would be enforced
In a town hall with mainstream media outlet CNN held on Wednesday evening, Biden said he will likely order the CDC to issue guidance "encouraging" unvaccinated children to wear masks when they return to schools in the fall.
It was unclear how Biden could enforce the guidance. He even admitted that it would be difficult, and passed the responsibility of forcing children to wear stifling masks indoors on to others. He said it was a "community responsibility."
It is also unclear how Biden or the CDC can enforce any wide-ranging mask mandate, especially since many local and statewide mask mandates have been lifted and fewer and fewer Americans are wearing masks.
A recently published poll conducted by market research firm Ipsos with mainstream news website Axios found that just 54 percent of Americans are still wearing masks regularly when they are in public. This is a significant decrease from 84 percent in early May.
The White House and the CDC are claiming that updates to their mask policies are important because of the rise of the post-vaccine delta variant of the coronavirus.
Health officials have claimed that the current surge is a "pandemic of the unvaccinated." They further claim that most of the cases are coming from states with low vaccination rates, including Missouri. This claim is not supported by the evidence, because 50 percent of adults in the state are already fully vaccinated.
Learn more about what the Biden administration and the rest of the federal government are up to by reading the latest articles at WhiteHouse.news.
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