SIO293: Did The CDC Screw Up?

The CDC recently made a surprise announcement that vaccinated people don't need to wear masks, with only a few exceptions. This was greeted with some excitement, but also with vigorous pushback by people on the left. So what's the science behind this decision, and what are the practical concerns? We break it down! Then, we talk about a very premature victory lap taken by Bret Weinstein over the lab-leak hypothesis being confir... I mean not quite technically disproven. ***FACTUAL CORRECTION*** I said that 27 states never had mask mandates. I misread that. 27 didn't have them in place at the time of the CDC's announcement. 11 states never had mandates. Links: CDC Updates To Recommendations, CDC Science Brief, KFF Report on Vaccine Hesitancy/Enthusiasm, Science Letter, "Investigate the origins of COVID-19", NYT Article on Science Letter