The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask guidance on Tuesday to recommend that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 resume wearing masks indoors in parts of the country with high levels of the virus.
The public health agency also advised everyone in K-12 schools to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.
The Delta variant is highly transmissible and COVID-19 cases are rising, according to the CDC. The CDC says masks reduce the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective for people 12 and up, but “breakthrough” infections are possible, health experts say. The CDC continues to advise that unvaccinated people wear masks and follow social distancing protocols.
New projections released by the Covid-19 Scenario Modeling Hub showed infections continuing to rise throughout the summer and fall. In the model’s most likely scenario, the latest wave of infections would peak in mid-October, with about 60,000 new daily cases and 850 deaths per day.
COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, but ‘”breakthrough” infections are possible, health experts said.
“Preliminary data from several states over the last few months suggest that 99.5 percent of deaths from COVID-19 in the United States were in unvaccinated people,” CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a June 8 press briefing.
A separate analysis from the Associated Press indicates that about 0.8 percent of deaths in recent months were in vaccinated people.
The CDC continues to recommend that people who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 wear masks and follow social distancing protocols.
