CDC says masking still necessary, COVID-19 treatments underused: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: CDC says masking still necessary, triggering a DOJ appeal

What's the latest on masking rules? Plus, patient safety reporter Karen Weintraub explains why COVID-19 treatments aren't being widely used, Russia gets closer to taking Mariupol, money reporter Terry Collins tells us about a CEO's work in Ukraine and Florida closes in on 'punishment' legislation for Florida.

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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Thursday, the 21st of April 2022. Today, what's the latest with masking on planes? Plus the last stand in Mariupol and more.

Here are some of the top headlines:

1. President Joe Biden is set to announce plans today to send additional military aid to Ukraine amid Russia's invasion. His administration has already approved some $2.6 billion in military help for Ukraine.

2. The World Health Organization says the number of new COVID-19 cases globally dropped by nearly a quarter last week, continuing a decline since the end of March. The number of newly reported deaths dropped 21%.

3. And Queen Elizabeth II turns 96 today, she's Britain's longest-serving monarch.

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The CDC has decided that its order requiring masks on planes and other public transit is still needed. In a statement, the agency wrote, "It is CDC's continuing as assessment that at this time, an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health. CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary. CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDC's legal authority to protect public health." That comes after a Florida federal judge, earlier this week, voided the federal mask mandate for travelers. But the CDC decision will not immediately change the end to that mask mandate. Instead, the Department of Justice has now filed an appeal. That means you can keep that mask off on a plane or bus if you want to for now. But the back and forth has thrown the Biden administration into an awkward situation. If the appeal succeeds and passengers are forced to wear masks on planes again, President Joe Biden could face political blowback. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, though, said the Justice Department's appeal is needed.

Jen Psaki:

The objective here is of course to appeal the 15-day extension, but also to preserve the CDC authority over the long term. Because as we've noted from here, we expect there to be ups and downs in the pandemic. And we certainly want the CDC to continue to have this authority.

Taylor Wilson:

After the Florida judge's ruling this week, every major US airline and many airports, though not all, said they would no longer enforce face coverings. The same goes for Uber, Lyft, Greyhound and Amtrak. Those on the front lines of enforcing masking rules have been employees, like flight attendants. Sara Nelson, head of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said the biggest issue this week was how the change in masking rules happened.

Sara Nelson:

First of all, there's really a mixed bag of reaction to the end of the federal mask mandate. There are some people who are very excited because they don't want to have to wear the mask for 14, 15, 16 hour days. And they feel confident being vaccinated and taking the steps to protect themselves. The way that this was rolled out, this gave no ability for people to understand what the rules were once again. And here, the frontline workers, the flight attendants and other workers at the airport, were caught holding the bag once again, when people thought that they bought a ticket, came to the airport, got on a flight with a certain set of rules and they changed midflight.

Taylor Wilson:

The federal mask mandate was announced in January of 2021, replacing previous masking rules in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. Before the judge's decision, the mandate was set to last until at least May 3rd.

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Effective treatments for COVID-19 are now widely available. So why are they not being used? Patient Safety Reporter Karen Weintraub has an answer.

Karen Weintraub:

There are two classes of treatments. One is called antivirals and one is called monoclonal antibodies. The monoclonal antibodies have been around longer, we heard about them when President Trump was sick with COVID. And the idea is that it gives you the things your body would naturally have to fight off disease. As the virus has evolved, the earlier monoclonals don't work anymore. There's only one that still does. So there are limited options with monoclonal antibodies.

With antivirals, there are two options. One is called Paxlovid, it's from Pfizer. And the other is called Molnupiravir, from Merck and Ridgeback Therapeutics. And those help your body fight off the virus before it can gain a real foothold. Paxlovid in particular has been shown to be extremely effective, preventing 90% of hospitalizations. Essentially, or at the beginning of this year, shortly after Paxlovid and Molnupiravir were approved, there weren't a lot of doses available. Particularly Paxlovid, it's hard to produce, it took a while to produce. So there weren't very many doses available. And lots of people were sick with COVID and needed doses. Now, there are plenty of doses available, fewer people are sick, but they're not being prescribed very much. In large part, it seems because primary care doctors don't know about them, and sick people don't know to ask for them. So I think it's important to get the word out that these exist.

They are aimed at high-risk people, at the people who would likely have a bad course of disease if they did get sick, so somebody who is say over 65, or immunocompromised, or has a number of ailments. So they're not aimed at 20-year-old healthy people, but they do prevent hospitalizations in people who are more likely to be hospitalized with COVID.

Taylor Wilson:

You can find more of Karen on Twitter @kweintraub.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his forces not to storm the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the coastal city of Mariupol. His order instead is to block the Azovstal steel mill, where a few thousand remaining Ukrainian troops are trying to hold on to the strategic port city. Mariupol has been relentlessly hit with Russian shelling for months, with few pauses. Officials estimate more than 20,000 people have been killed there. Evacuations have been sporadic, but four buses of civilians managed to escape yesterday, with another attempt set for today. About a thousand civilians are currently trapped, along with Ukrainian soldiers, at the steel mill.

Meanwhile, Russia's offensive in Ukraine's East continues to spread. The Governor of Luhansk said Russian forces now control 80% of the region, one of two that make up the Donbas in Eastern Ukraine. Before Russia invaded, Ukraine's Kyiv government controlled about 60%. Russia has stated that its goal is to control the Donbas, which is home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy equipment factories. The United Nations Refugee Agency now says that more than 5 million people have fled Ukraine, a country of 44 million. Many of them, like Mariupol refugee Viktoriya Savyichkina, are in Poland.

Taylor Wilson translating for Viktoriya Savyichkina:

"We wanted to go immediately because all the houses were destroyed. We sat in the cellars afraid to go out. Everything was plundered, marauding, people wanted to eat. We also had no water."

Russia says it has presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands for ending the conflict. Though, just days ago, Putin said talks were at a dead end. It was not clear when the draft was sent or whether it offered anything new to Ukraine, who offered their own demands last month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had not seen or heard of the proposal, but one of his top advisors said the Ukrainian side was reviewing it. Moscow has long demanded that Ukraine drop any bid to join NATO. And Ukraine has said it would agree to that in return for security guarantees from other countries.

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The founder and CEO of JustAnswer, a company that sources professional services, advanced the salaries of his nearly 300 employees who live and work in Ukraine, ahead of Russia's invasion there in recent months. And more recently, Andy Kurtzig and his family spent their spring break helping their colleagues on the ground there. Money & Tech Reporter Terry Collins has more.

Terry Collins:

Their goal is to deliver bags with much needed medical supplies, military gear. That includes body armor, night vision goggles and drones. And the goal, was also for Kurtzig to meet with some of his employees, and let them know that he's more than just their boss, he's their friend and he's going to be willing to do whatever he can to help them. He's still going to continue to pay their salaries, whether if they're in Ukraine or in other parts of Europe. For example, when he went over to the Ukrainian border, he was able to give body armor and other military equipment to one of his workers, who's fighting with the Ukrainian army. So in another instance, he said that he and another JustAnswer executive, they went through hours going through customs and the like, trying to make sure they can get over to certain places. And he said, at one point when they were coming back, that he could hear bombs and things like, that he thought wasn't too far for him, but for him, it was a pretty harrowing experience. But in the end, he said it's all worth it. And he plans to go back again if he can.

He normally goes about twice a year, but had some reservations regarding with the conflict. But listening to his daughter, and they had a family meeting, they decided, "Let's go, let's see what we can do to help." And so it's one of the many examples that we see of [inaudible 00:10:33], to several tech entrepreneurs who have either employees or companies based in Ukraine, which is a tech hotbed, doing all they can to help out their workers. Kurtzig said, "This is not about just a war about tanks and bombs, but about freedom and truth." He said that, "We're trying to do our part to spread the truth. The more we can all help the better."

So Kurtzig believes that by him going, hopefully he sets an example and maybe other tech entrepreneurs may go that extra step, in addition to giving all the money and resources that they have, to maybe if they can, if they can do so safely, go see their workers. Let them know that you're there for them, and that you care about them.

In addition to some of the other hard to find supplies that he and his family brought in, they said they also brought in a truckload of food, bedding and other items for Ukrainian refugees, and delivered a lot of those to a refugee food kitchen and logistics center in Slovakia. And they also visited a refugee center and food operation in Poland. Basically, he was trying to make the most of a week in trying to get out as much supplies that he could, and see as many people as possible, just to let them know that he cares.

Taylor Wilson:

You can find a link to Terry's piece in today's episode description.

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Florida's House of Representatives will vote today on legislation that would repeal a 56-year-old law that allows Disney to self-govern its 38 square miles of theme parks and more in Central Florida. And an additional measure would strip Disney of special social media protections as well. The move is seen as punishment by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis for Disney speaking out against the so-called, 'Don't Say Gay' bill. DeSantis signed that legislation into law this month, which states that classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through third grade in the state. The Governor's fight with Disney is unprecedented with the company bringing in $75 billion to the state a year.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us seven mornings a week right here, wherever you're listening right now. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show. And I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things, from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DOJ appeals travel mask ruling, Russia closes in on Mariupol: 5 Things podcast