Dr Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Friday that he believes governors are ready to start easing Covid restrictions on businesses as long as the mask policy remains in place.
“If I leave the masks on its own, and that’s the last thing we pick up, I think it’s sensible,” the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner told Squawk Box.
Gottlieb made his remarks one day after Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut announced the restrictions would take effect this month. These include the lifting of restrictions on restaurants, churches, hair salons and retail stores from 19 March. But Lamont will retain the mandate for the entire mask. Texas and Mississippi – two states governed by Republican governors that recently passed pandemic restrictions – are also eliminating their mask mandates.
Gottlieb said he finds Lamont’s approach the right way, given the progress made by Covid vaccinations. Gottlieb, a Connecticut resident, served on a pandemic advisory team for Lamont.
“I think this is the kind of thing we need to do nationwide is at least give a map of where we are headed if the situation continues to improve without taking our foot off the brake,” Gottlieb said. which led the FDA in 2017 to 2019 in the Trump administration.
Coronavirus cases in America have declined sharply from their peak in January, coinciding with the continued introduction of Covid vaccinations to a larger portion of the country’s population. At the same time, top health officials have urged U.S. residents to avoid complacency and warned that more contagious virus variants threaten the country’s progress.
“There could be so much going on in the next few weeks,” said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said this week. “How it plays out depends on us. The next three months are crucial.”
White House medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci told CNN on Thursday that the restriction of restrictions is “inexplicable” at the moment.
Gottlieb – a member of Pfizer’s board, which makes a vaccine for Covid – said the emerging virus strains are important in looking at states that plan to ease restrictions. The B117 variant, first discovered in the UK, is growing in Connecticut, Gottlieb said. “If the situation changes, I’m sure they’ll reevaluate it.”
Lamont’s reduction of restrictions in Connecticut differs significantly from the move by GOP Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who declared his state ‘100% OPEN’ in a tweet earlier this week.
In Connecticut, performing artists and movie theaters will still be limited by 50%. In addition, dining rooms at restaurants must close at 23:00 ET.
Gottlieb said he would personally continue to avoid eating indoors, an attitude he maintained during the pandemic. “I’m sure I’m going out to restaurants in the course of March, but I’m going to eat outside,” Gottlieb said. “It does not seem to me a risk worth taking.”
At the same time, Gottlieb said that the overall risk dynamics for Covid have changed significantly due to vaccination of vaccines.
About 16% of the U.S. population received at least one dose as of Thursday, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines require two doses, while the recently cleaned Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single shot.
About 21% of Connecticut residents have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the CDC.
“Connecticut fared much better than most states in getting vaccines into their older population,” Gottlieb added. “They followed an age-old approach. They were very successful in getting vaccinated 65 years and older, because because the overall vulnerability of the population is declining, you can lean forward a little bit.” Age is one of the biggest risk factors for developing severe Covid and possibly dying.
“If we now have 1,000 infections in the state, it is very different from 1,000 infections ten months ago when none of the vulnerable residents of the state were vaccinated,” Gottlieb said. “I think you should try to provide a path that enables people to gradually return to normal activities.”
Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a contributor to CNBC and is a member of the boards of directors of Pfizer, the genetic testing training company Tempus, the healthcare company Aetion and the biotechnology company Illumina. He also serves as co-chair of the ‘Healthy Sail Panel’ of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean.