Senate leader Phil Berger calls CDC guidance on masks ‘guidance to ignore’
Senate Leader Phil Berger called the CDC’s guidance on wearing masks as something similar to that of eating raw cookie dough: “guidance to ignore.”
A fundraising email sent Wednesday morning said the latest CDC guidelines aren’t based on science but a method by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the media and liberals to control the American people.
Berger’s spokespersons Lauren Horsch and Pat Ryan directed campaign fundraising questions to NC GOP Senate Caucus Political Leader Dylan Watts who said the email’s subject line: “CDC issues new guidelines to ignore,” was a mistake.
A corrected email has not been sent out to constituents.
“I will say that it shouldn’t say go ignore the advice,” Watts said. “I think the headline probably should have said CDC issued new guidelines; people will ignore it.”
Watts said the point of the email was that people don’t listen to the CDC guidelines.
“The CDC has given people more consistent guidance on eating raw cookie dough than they have on masks,” Watts said. “At some point, people stop listening.”
COVID cases, deaths continue to increase
On Tuesday, the CDC recommended that everyone who enters a school building wear a mask and that vaccinated people in areas of substantial and severe transmission wear masks indoors.
The recommendations came as the number of COVID-19 cases increased in the United States and the CDC learned that the Delta variant is more transmissible than previous versions of the virus. The variant has also led to breakthrough cases in those who have been vaccinated.
North Carolina health officials on Wednesday reported 2,600 new cases of COVID-19 in the state, 1,000 more than the previous day and the highest number since February.
Watts said Berger has been consistent about wearing a mask when needed.
Berger hails from Eden, a town in Rockingham County. The county has a population of 91,000 people.
The rural county has been more lax about wearing masks than other parts of the state.
That became evident around the holidays when one of the county’s Walmarts finally required people to wear masks inside the store, long after that had been mandated around the globe. People took to social media calling for a boycott of the company and threatened to storm the store maskless.
Since the pandemic began, 8,282 people in Rockingham County have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and 170 people have died.
More than 34.6 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with the virus that has killed 611,000.
In North Carolina, 13,590 people have died.
“People should get to make their own decisions,” Watts said. “That’s the gist of the email. It is not intended to tell people to ignore the CDC guidelines.”
The dangers of eating raw cookie dough
When asked if Berger had any concerns that his email could cause a distrust of the CDC among North Carolinians, Watts responded, “The CDC is doing a perfectly capable job of that itself.”
The News & Observer emailed NCDHHS for comment on Berger’s email but did not immediately get a response.
Berger’s email also made light of a longstanding warning from the CDC and FDA that recommends people not even taste raw dough.
In an article on the FDA’s website, the administration says that eating raw dough, of any kind, isn’t just deadly because of the risks of salmonella because of the raw eggs, but also because of E. coli from the raw flour.
Salmonella poisoning leads to 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations and 420 deaths yearly in the United States, according to the CDC.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that E. coli causes 265,000 illnesses and about 100 deaths per year in the United States.
Watts said when Berger was asked if he eats raw cookie dough he responded with, “only with ice cream.”
The CDC does not recommend adding homemade cookie dough to ice cream.
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This story was originally published July 28, 2021 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Senate leader Phil Berger calls CDC guidance on masks ‘guidance to ignore’."
