by Catherine Salgado
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just quietly updated its Covid-19 guidance to tell Americans essentially to act as if the virus were the common flu. All of us “conspiracy theorists” who said the same thing back in February 2020 would like an apology.
Ironically, the CDC’s new guidance from March 1 not only recommends good hygiene and vaccination (despite evidence of the COVID vaccine’s serious risks), it recommends “cleaner air” and “gathering outdoors.” Do you remember how many people obediently stayed locked inside or took their walks with masks on during the height of COVID thanks to scare tactics from government agencies such as the CDC? Turns out the age-old tactic of getting fresh air and washing your hands really is the best protection against COVID-19. From the CDC:
CDC released today updated recommendations for how people can protect themselves and their communities from respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. The new guidance brings a unified approach to addressing risks from a range of common respiratory viral illnesses, such as COVID-19, flu, and RSV, which can cause significant health impacts and strain on hospitals and health care workers. CDC is making updates to the recommendations now because the U.S. is seeing far fewer hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID-19 and because we have more tools than ever to combat flu, COVID, and RSV.
Other outlets also noticed the switch in rhetoric. “CDC ditches 5-day COVID isolation, argues COVID is becoming flu-like,” Ars Technica reported. “It’s Official: We Can Pretty Much Treat Covid Like the Flu Now. Here’s a Guide,” was Wall Street Journal’s headline. Thank goodness WSJ humbly waited for the CDC to tell them that.
