House Republicans push CDC for mask guidance data, metrics on when agency will rescind recommendation

A group of House Republicans is pushing for more transparency for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the data behind its most recent mask guidance for vaccinated people and what metrics it will need to see to rescind the controversial recommendation.

"Unfortunately, the CDC has not been transparent with the data underlying this decision, sowing confusion and distrust," the letter reads. "So, we write to ask that you publicize this data and explain how it justifies a blanket and open-ended policy." "If your agency cannot even provide reliable predictions about current transmission, we question your ability to estimate the extent to which breakthrough infections are expected to drive the overall number of cases among the unvaccinated," the GOP group adds. "We worry this shifting mask guidance and lack of transparency signals the CDC does not have a plan to show the American people what benchmarks need to be achieved to bring their lives back to normal."