The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made changes to its mask policy. The organization is now encouraging fully vaccinated people to wear masks indoors if they live in an area with increasing rates of Covid infection.
At this point, according to the CDC, the Northeast and Upper Midwest are the only locations that are not experiencing an increase of the delta variant of Covid.
“This was not a decision that was taken lightly,” explained Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s director, who understands that people are “tired and frustrated.”
Walensky also explained that vaccinated people have a lower rate of infection, but still have the possibility of contacting Covid.
“The delta variant is showing every day its willingness to outsmart us,” Walensky said.
” When we examine the rare breakthrough infections and we look at the amount of virus in those people, it is pretty similar to the amount of virus in unvaccinated people,” she said. “And, it’s possible that because of this higher viral load, people with breakthrough cases of delta may be able to spread it.”
“Unlike the alpha variant that we had back in May where we didn’t believe that if you were vaccinated, you could transmit further, this is different now with a delta variant,” she explained.
Due to the delta variant spreading so rapidly in certain parts of the United, some cities like Los Angeles and St. Louis have needed to reinstate indoor mask mandates.
“We have places that are now reporting over 300 cases per 100,000, so an extraordinary amount of viral transmission,” Walensky said. She is also advocating for unvaccinated people to become vaccinated as soon as possible.
“The highest spread of cases and severe outcomes is happening in places with low vaccination rates and among unvaccinated people,” she said. And “the associated illness, suffering and death could have been avoided.”