Should we prepare to “be scienced!”, as our Twitter pal Pradheep Shanker predicts? The White House has added a new event to its schedule this morning for its COVID-19 team. Given the direction that blue-state governors have suddenly turned, one has to wonder just how “scienced” we should expect to be (via Twitchy):

White House suddenly schedules a press briefing by the White House COVID-19 Response Team for today

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) February 9, 2022

It’s scheduled for less than an hour from now. It may be less about getting “scienced” than an attempt to get back in front of the sudden shift of direction from outside the Beltway. The Hill led off this morning with a revealing take on how Joe Biden has gotten lost in the COVID-19 fight, and how even his allies have begun acting on their own rather than remain trapped in the White House’s out-of-touch handling:

President Biden is being put in a difficult spot on COVID-19 — and this time he can thank Democratic-led states for the conundrum.

Four states, all of which have Democratic governors, have announced in recent days that they are going to lift mask mandates for schools. Separately, deep-blue California is going to end its policy of requiring vaccinated people to mask while indoors next week.

But the Biden administration has promised to follow the guidance of scientists, specifically those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC has not yet issued any change to its guidance on masking.

That leaves Biden in a bind.

The key sign of a change in direction — Jen Psaki insisted yesterday there wouldn’t be any:

White House press secretary Jen Psaki pushed back when asked at Tuesday’s media briefing about the apparent discrepancy between the administration’s position and that of California as well as the states that are lifting school mask mandates: Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon.

“We don’t look at it through that prism,” Psaki responded, when asked if the states were, in effect, overruling the CDC.

As to whether or when the administration’s position would change, Psaki responded: “You’ll have to ask the CDC. The CDC moves at the pace of data and science.”

That hasn’t been true in two years, at least. And it’s not likely to be true today either, especially since New York just got added into that mix. Kathy Hochul made herself the fifth Democratic governor to get tired of waiting for the CDC late yesterday:

On Wednesday, Ms. Hochul is expected to announce that she will let the mask mandate expire this week, a watershed moment in the state’s coronavirus pandemic response as the Omicron variant, now known to cause milder effects than scientists originally understood, continues to recede.

The governor, state officials said, was not swayed by politics or even the weight of neighboring states, also led by Democratic governors, easing mask rules this week.

State officials said that Ms. Hochul was basing her decision purely on the latest data and consultations with public health experts, including Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, and talks with hospital leaders, labor groups and local officials.

By Tuesday, the governor became comfortable with the latest metrics, which indicated bed capacity at hospitals had improved and the statewide positivity rate was at about 4 percent, down from a peak of 23 percent on Jan. 2.

Suuuuure she did. In reality, Democratic governors are reacting to voter anger over masking measures that Democratic politicians don’t follow for themselves. Stacey Abrams was the catalyst for this latest wave of anger, but she was neither the first nor the last prominent Democrat to lecture people about mask-wearing while refusing to apply the restrictions to herself. (Allahpundit will have an update on the Abrams story later this morning.) Voters are overwhelmingly tired of extraordinary interventions on COVID-19 now that it has turned endemic, and Democratic governors recognize that political risk even if Joe Biden’s too addled to catch up.

Or maybe Biden has belatedly caught up to the political, economic, educational, and even medical reality of endemicity. Don’t be surprised if the CDC’s “pace of data and science” has suddenly hit warp speed after Psaki’s claim yesterday and provides some backup for these Democratic governors. That’s the clear motive behind the sudden fussiness at CDC over correlative hospital admissions, after all — they need some data for cover to change policies that are destructive and pointless as COVID-19 turns much less deadly, and as the population acquires broad immunity through vaccination and/or exposure. Now that the dam is breaking, the CDC will blind us with science that says the dam should have been removed already. Maybe they’ll have Thomas Dolby as a special guest star.

Update: NBC News smells what the White House will be selling shortly:

The era of big mandates is over.

Or at least it’s heading in that direction.

That’s the unmistakable conclusion after New York today becomes the latest blue state to end its indoor mask mandate, joining California, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon in loosening their Covid restrictions.

It all comes as Omicron cases are on the decline, as more than 75 percent of Americans have received at least one vaccine dose, and as Democrats find themselves on the defensive on masks and other Covid restrictions.

It’s also a case where the nation’s politics and public health aren’t aligned, with the CDC guidance still suggesting that 99 percent of Americans should be wearing masks indoors regardless of their vaccination status

And where Democratic governors and the Biden White House aren’t aligned either, with the Biden administration still refusing to loosen its mandates and guidelines.

Get ready for the Shiny New Alignment coming up at 11 ET.