Dr Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Friday that he believed governors were right to start easing Covid’s restrictions on businesses while maintaining mask policies.
“I think it’s prudent to leave the masks in place, and that will be the last thing we lift,” the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner told Squawk Box.
Gottlieb made the remarks a day after Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut announced a reduction in restrictions that will go into effect this month. They include the lifting capacity limit of restaurants, churches, hairdressers and retail stores, among others, from 19 March. But Lamont will retain the state mask mandate. Texas and Mississippi, two states led by Republican governors who have recently decided to remove pandemic restrictions, are also eliminating their mask mandates.
Gottlieb said he considered Lamont’s approach to be the right one, given the progress made in vaccines against Covid. Gottlieb, a resident of Connecticut, has been part of a pandemic advisory team for Lamont.
“I think it’s the kind of thing we need to do across the country, at least provide a map of where we’re going if the situation continues to improve without taking its foot off the brake at the same time,” said Gottlieb, who directed the FDA the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019.
Coronavirus cases in America have declined sharply from their peak in January, coinciding with the continued deployment of Covid vaccines to a larger proportion of the country’s population. At the same time, senior health officials have urged U.S. residents to avoid complacency, warning that the most contagious virus variants threaten to undermine the nation’s progress.
“So much can come in the coming weeks,” CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said this week. “It’s up to us how this works. The next three months are crucial.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser, told CNN on Thursday that the restriction on restrictions at the time was “inexplicable.”
Gottlieb, a board member of Pfizer, which manufactures a vaccine against Covid, said emerging virus strains are important in monitoring states that plan to ease restrictions. The B117 variant, first discovered in the UK, grows in Connecticut, Gottlieb said. “If the situation changes, I’m sure they will check it out.”
The setback of Lamont’s restrictions on Connecticut differs significantly from the moves of Texas Gov. 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 50% cap. In addition, the dining rooms of the restaurants must close at 23:00 ET.
Gottlieb said he would personally continue to avoid eating indoors, a stance he has maintained during the pandemic. “I’ll be sure to go out to restaurants during the month of March, but I’ll eat out,” Gottlieb said. “It just doesn’t seem like a risk worth taking.”
At the same time, Gottlieb said Covid’s overall risk dynamics have changed considerably due to the launch of the vaccine.
As of Thursday, approximately 16% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses, while the recently removed Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single shot.
About 21% of Connecticut residents have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the CDC.
“Connecticut has done much better than most states in getting vaccines for its large population,” Gottlieb added. “They’ve taken an age-based approach. They’ve been very successful in getting vaccinated 65 years or older, so as the overall vulnerability of the population decreases, it allows you to lean a little bit further forward.” . Age is one of the biggest risk factors for developing severe covids and possibly for dying.
“If we now have 1,000 infections in the state, that’s very different from the 1,000 infections ten months ago when none of the vulnerable residents in the state were vaccinated,” Gottlieb said. “I think we need to try to provide a path that allows people to gradually return to normal activity.”
Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and a member of the boards of Pfizer, the start of genetic testing Tempus, the healthcare technology company Aetion and the biotechnology company Illumina. He is also co-chair of the Healthy Sail Panel of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean.