In Washington:

• On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eased its guidelines on wearing masks outdoors, saying fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to mask up unless they are in certain crowded settings and venues. The CDC says that whether they are fully vaccinated or not, people do not have to wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike, or run alone or with members of their household. The agency listed additional activities that vaccinated individuals are now safe to do and situations to still avoid due to concerns about variants.   More than a third of U.S. adults are now fully vaccinated. 

• The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were 94 percent effective in preventing hospitalization for COVID-19 among people age 65 and older, according to a CDC study released Wednesday. The study adds to clinical trial studies with real-world evidence from January to March. The 94 percent figure applied to individuals who were more than two weeks past their second shot, i.e. full vaccination. Effectiveness dropped to 64 percent for those less than two weeks out.

• National Institutes of Health (NIH) official Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday disputed recent vaccine-skeptical comments from podcaster Joe Rogan. Rogan told his podcast audience - one of the nation’s largest - that, “[If] you're a healthy person, and you're exercising all the time, and you're young, and you’re eating well, like, I don't think you need to worry about this.” Fauci urged people of all ages to get vaccinated, adding that young people “could do damage to somebody else even if [they] have no symptoms at all” if they get COVID-19.

• The Department of Labor’s Office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has moved closer to issuing emergency temporary workplace safety standards to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after weeks of delay and growing pressure from Democrats and safety advocates.  The draft safety standards were submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review before being printed in the Federal Register. The move prompted the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections to postpone their hearing on the issue that was originally scheduled for April 30.   

• NIH and CDC health officials testified today before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on how the government should respond to the high number of so-called “long haulers”, Americans suffering from COVID symptoms that linger for months or years after being infected.  The agencies reviewed the research and clinical trials they have been holding and plan to release interim guidance for health care providers after more consultations with medical groups. NIH is preparing to offer more than $1 billion in grants within the next three weeks.   Meanwhile, advocacy groups are calling on Chairman Pallone to take up Rep. Don Beyer’s (D-VA) COVID-19 Long Haulers Act, which would spend about $90 million to gather better data on long hauler patients, study how to address racial and economic disparities in treatment access, and educate medical providers on how to recognize and respond to the disease.

In the News:

• Children as young a 6 months old are now taking part in trials studying the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

• India became the fourth country in the world to pass 200,000 deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday as the country struggles against an overwhelming second wave of infections. Only India, the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil have recorded more than 200,000 deaths. New Delhi, the country's capital, remains under lockdown as officials cite a test positivity rate as high as 36 percent throughout the country.

• U.S. births in 2020 fell 4.3 percent from 2019, according to a new analysis by the Associated Press (AP). Annual births had been dropping by a little under 1 percent for the past decade. But researchers say the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the trend. 

• Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed into law on Wednesday a bill that ends religious exemptions for school vaccinations. The law will take effect for the 2022-2023 school year. The law is not retroactive to students already enrolled in K-12 schools. The law is expected to be challenged in court. It makes Connecticut one of six states that have decided to end religious exemptions for vaccines.

• The California State Assembly is unlikely to support distance learning as an option for K-12 students in the fall outside of a narrow medical exemption, Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting said Wednesday.

• The Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healy is calling for mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for public employees, saying it is a matter of public safety.