CDC’s mask mandate based on data from India, alleges Republican leader

Republican Kevin McCarthy, US House minority leader, has lashed out at the Democratic Party and Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) for reimposing a mask mandate for vaccinated people in the country, arguing that the latest regulations are based on data from India. 

Speaking in the House of Representatives, Congressman McCarthy alleged that the latest recommendations by the CDC are based on a report that has not been published yet. However, the Republican did not specify the report.

Also read: List of countries safeguarding themselves from COVID’s Delta variant

Referring to his conversation with a House doctor, McCarthy said that the report in question “was based upon India about a vaccine that is not approved in America,” according to PTI inputs.

Furthermore, McCarthy asserted that the Indian report “did not even pass peer review.”

“The mask mandate is based upon a study in India, based upon a vaccine that isn’t approved in America that didn’t pass peer review. Could this be a plan to keep our schools closed?” he asked.

Following his claims, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed out at the opposition leader and described him as “a moron.”

Meanwhile, his fellow Republican, Congressman Dan Crenshaw joined him on social media to support him.

“Here’s the truth, America: The ‘game changer’ data the CDC used for the mask mandate is from a single study from India. The study was rejected in peer review. But the CDC used it anyway. Remember what I said about public health officials losing our trust? It gets worse,” he said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, explaining the change in CDC’s stance, US chief virologist Anthony Fauci told CNN that “the science didn’t change, the virus did.”

He said the change in CDC guidance is a sign of the change the Delta variant has carved into the pandemic landscape.

Before Tuesday, only unvaccinated people were asked to wear masks indoors. But with the spread of the Delta variant, which was first found in India and battered its healthcare system, the CDC issued revised guidelines.

According to the CDC, only 49.2% of the US population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.