Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Friday that he believes that governors are right to start easing Covid’s restrictions on companies, as long as the masking policies remain in place.
“Leaving the masks in place, this being the last thing we raised, I think it is prudent,” said the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
Gottlieb made his comments on “Squawk Box” the day after Connecticut Democratic Governor Ned Lamont announced a series of changes that will take effect later this month. They include lifting capacity limits in restaurants, churches, hairdressers and retail stores, among others, as of March 19. But Lamont will maintain the mask’s mandate across the state. Texas and Mississippi – two other states run by the Republican governor who recently moved to lift pandemic restrictions – are also eliminating their mask mandates.
Gottlieb said he thought Lamont’s approach was the right one, given the progress made in Covid’s vaccinations. Gottlieb, a Connecticut resident, served on a pandemic advisory team for Lamont.
“I think it’s the kind of thing we need to do across the country, it’s at least providing a map of where we’re going if the situation continues to improve without taking the brakes off at once,” said Gottlieb, who led the FDA in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019.
Coronavirus cases in America have declined dramatically since their peak in January, which coincided with the continued launch of the Covid vaccination for a larger portion of the country’s population. At the same time, top health officials have urged US residents to avoid complacency, warning that more contagious variants of the virus are threatening to undermine the country’s progress so far.
“So much can happen in the coming weeks,” said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky earlier this week. “How it plays out depends on us. The next three months are crucial.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical advisor, said in an interview with CNN on Thursday that reversing the restrictions was now “inexplicable”.
Gottlieb – a board member of Pfizer, which makes the Covid vaccine – said that emerging virus strains are important to watch for in states like Connecticut, which plan to ease restrictions. The B117 variant, first discovered in the UK, is growing in Connecticut, said Gottlieb. “If the situation changes, I’m sure they will reevaluate.”
The reversal of Lamont’s restrictions in Connecticut differs significantly from the movements of GOP Texas governor Greg Abbott, who in a tweet earlier this week declared his status “100% OPEN”.
In Connecticut, performing arts venues and movie theaters will still have a limited capacity of 50%. In addition, restaurant dining rooms will have to close at 11 pm Eastern Time.
Gottlieb said he would personally continue to avoid eating at home, a stance he publicly maintained during the pandemic. “I’m going to restaurants, I’m sure, throughout March, but I’m going to eat out,” said Gottlieb. “It just doesn’t feel like a risk worth taking for me.”
At the same time, Gottlieb said that the overall risk dynamics for Covid have changed considerably due to the vaccine’s launch.
As of Thursday, about 16% of the US population has received at least one dose of vaccine, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna require two doses, while the vaccine recently released from Johnson & Johnson is just a single injection.
About 21% of Connecticut residents received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the CDC.
“Connecticut has fared much better than most states when it comes to vaccinating its older population,” added Gottlieb. “They took an age-based approach. They were very successful in vaccinating 65 or older, so as the general vulnerability of the population decreases, this allows you to lean forward a little bit.” Age is one of the biggest risk factors for developing severe Covid and possibly dying.
“If we have 1,000 infections now in the state, this is very different from 1,000 infections 10 months ago, when none of the state’s vulnerable residents were vaccinated,” said Gottlieb. “I think you need to try to provide a path that allows people to gradually return to normal activity.”