Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams Says CDC Relaxing Mask Guidance Was ‘Premature’
Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams is sounding off on the CDC relaxing the mask mandate.
According to NBC News, In a series of tweets that appear to be deleted, Adams wrote it was "misinterpreted, premature, & wrong” to relax the mandates.
He continued, "Now you have health officials, cities & counties (eg LA County), & likely soon states issuing guidance in direct conflict w/ the mask guidance @CDCgov issued a month ago. The sooner CDC says we were wrong, & hits the reset button, the better," Adams said. "Trust me- I know more than anyone."
Adams also clarified what he meant when he and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to former president Donald Trump and current president Joe Biden, told Americans to not wear masks at the start of the pandemic, explaining, “What Dr. Fauci and I said was based on the science & conditions at the time, and amounted to “save the medical masks (which were all that was available) for the medical workers. Both the conditions & the science changed, but what people heard and held to was masks don’t work.”
In February of 2020, Adams was criticized for tweeting out a poem that appeared to suggest the flu was worse than the coronavirus.
Two months later in April, Adams came under fire again. During a press conference, he spoke about how coronavirus is disproportionately affecting Black and Latino communities, urging members of those communities to refrain from alcohol, drug, and tobacco use, and to adhere to federal shelter-in-place guidelines.
"We need you to do this, if not for yourself, then for your abuela. Do it for your granddaddy. Do it for your big mama. Do it for your pop pop," Adams said.
PBS correspondent Yamiche Alcindor later questioned Adams’ choice of words.
"There are some people online who are already offended by that language and the idea that behaviors may be leading to these high death rates,” Alcindor asked. “Could you, I guess, have a response to those who might be offended by the language you used?"
Adams defended himself by saying he used language he uses with his family.
Jerome Adams resigned in January 2021, reportedly at President Biden’s request.
