Overnight Health Care — White House under pressure over masks

Welcome to Wednesday’s Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. Subscribe here: thehill.com/newsletter-signup. 

It was inevitable that internet influencers would bring together two of the biggest cultural events of the past year: COVID-19 and Encanto.  

The White House and CDC think it’s too soon to lift mask requirements, but risk being left behind as Democratic-run states do it anyway. 

For The Hill, we’re Peter Sullivan (psullivan@thehill.com) and Nathaniel Weixel (nweixel@thehill.com). Write to us with tips and feedback, and follow us on Twitter: @PeterSullivan4 and @NateWeixel 

Let’s get started. 

Officials face new pressure to lift mask rules

The White House is facing pressure to revise its position on wearing masks, as declining COVID-19 cases and pandemic fatigue among voters leads an increasing number of Democratic states to lift requirements on public masking. 

Some governors and local health officials are calling for the White House and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to release guidance for an off-ramp for mask usage.  

Mask requirements are one of the only remaining COVID-19 restrictions in place in many areas of the country. But agency director Rochelle WalenskyRochelle WalenskyHogan announces COVID-19 booster lottery CDC director urges officials against dropping school mask mandates Experts open the door to lifting last mask mandates MORE is insistent that it’s not yet time to lift mask requirements anywhere. 

The consequences: Public health experts said the administration risks losing credibility as more and more states go at it alone.  

“No one is expecting the CDC to say that mask mandates need to end overnight. But where are the metrics for when restrictions can be lifted? With each passing day, the CDC is making itself less relevant, not only for COVID-19, but for other public health matters as well,” said Leana Wen, a professor of health policy and management at George Washington University. 

Politics too: The decisions states are making are just as political as they are scientific, and Democratic strategists said the Biden administration should recognize that. For example, New Jersey Gov. Phil MurphyPhil MurphyThe Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – States lifting mask mandates in schools Overnight Health Care — White House sticks by school mask mandates White House stands by school mask mandates despite some states lifting rule MORE barely won reelection in November against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, as many voters in the state disapproved of his COVID policies during the pandemic.  

Murphy this week said the state’s mask mandate in schools will be ended next month.   

Read more here. 

CDC advises against ending mask mandates

The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the agency is still not ready to make recommendations on relaxing mask requirements, even as more governors announce their intentions to do so. 

“We are working on that guidance,” Rochelle Walensky told reporters during a White House briefing, but “our hospitalizations are still high, our death rates are…