It would seem like ONCE AGAIN the CDC comes out with a RECOMMENDATION and it quickly becomes a MANDATE, and according to this article those who have been vaccinated have a RARE chances of catching COVID-19 -Delta from others. Personally, I am not going to wear a mask and any business that mandates that a mask be worn… I will shop somewhere else. Right now, all the “talking heads” state that we are not going back to LAST YEAR … closing down businesses, schools…  but as the “SCIENCE” seems to change from  day to day…  With 67% of our population >12 y/o has had at least one shot… we are on the precipice of the percent vaccination that they said we would have “heard immunity” and was at once time was considered would be a “win” over the virus.

CDC Calls for Masks in Schools, Hard-Hit Areas, Even if Vaccinated

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/955488

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) once again is recommending that some Americans wear masks indoors. The agency called today for masks in K-12 school settings and in areas of the United States experiencing high or substantial SARS-CoV-2 transmission, even for the fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The move reverses a controversial announcement the agency made in May 2021 that fully vaccinated Americans could skip wearing a mask in most settings.

Unlike the increasing vaccination rates and decreasing case numbers reported in May, however, some regions of the United States are now reporting large jumps in COVID-19 case numbers. And the Delta variant as well as new evidence of transmission from breakthrough cases are largely driving these changes.

“Today we have new science related to the [D]elta variant that requires us to update the guidance on what you can do when you are fully vaccinated,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said during a media briefing today.

New evidence has emerged on breakthrough-case transmission risk, for example. “Information on the [D]elta variant from several states and other countries

indicates that in rare cases, some people infected with the [D]elta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread virus to others,

” Walensky said, adding that the viral loads appear to be about the same in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

“This new science is worrisome,” she said.

Even though unvaccinated people represent the vast majority of cases of transmission, Walensky said, “we thought it was important for [vaccinated] people to understand they have the potential to transmit the virus to others.”

As a result, in addition to continuing to strongly encourage everyone to get vaccinated, the CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings to help prevent spread of the Delta variant in areas with substantial or high transmission, Walensky said. “This includes schools.”

Masks in Schools

The CDC is now recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Their goal is to optimize safety and allow children to return to full-time in-person learning in the fall.

The CDC tracks substantial and high-transmission rates through the agency’s COVID Data Tracker site. High transmission means between 50 and 100 cases per 100,000 people reported over 7 days and substantial means more than 100 cases per 100,000 people.

The B.1.617.2, or Delta, variant is believed to be responsible for COVID-19 cases increasing more than 300% nationally from June 19 to July 23, 2021.

“The highest spread of cases and [most] severe outcomes are happening in places with low vaccination rates and among unvaccinated people,” Walensky said. “With the [D]elta variant, vaccinating more Americans now is more urgent than ever.”

“This moment, and the associated suffering, illness and death, could have been avoided with higher vaccination coverage in this country,” she said.

Based on a July 27, 2021, news briefings from the CDC.

Filed under: General Problems