Health officials across the country said Tuesday that vaccinated Americans should wear a mask again indoors in high-risk areas.
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This guideline change comes at a time when the delta variant is causing a sharp increase in cases, especially in less well-fortified areas.
In the areas where it moves [de la COVID-19] The delta variant made this necessary, said Rochelle Wallinsky, director of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).
If vaccination remains effective against the delta variant, the new data “suggests that in rare cases, people have been vaccinated.” […] It can be contagious and transmit the virus to others.
“These new findings are concerning and unfortunately justify updating our recommendation.”
According to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of infections is rising in most of the southern United States, but less in the Northeast, which is better vaccinated.
To limit the spread of the delta variant, the CDC will also recommend that schools require teachers, students or visitors to wear a mask, whether or not they have been vaccinated.
The CDC was still defending its May recommendation last week that vaccinated people do not need to wear masks indoors in most circumstances, with some exceptions including public transportation and hospitals.
But the delta variant, which now accounts for about 90% of new cases in the United States, has changed the rules of the game.
Nearly half of the US population (49%) is pollinated, but differences are large between regions.
The latest seven-day weighted average daily exceeds 56,000 cases, which is close to April levels.
“This does not mean that the quality of the vaccine or the level of protection there is a decline,” Eric Seo Pena, a public health expert at Northwell Health, told AFP.
“It is a solution to an existing problem because we have a high level of people who are not vaccinated.”
Some experts have suggested statistical scoring to link mask-wearing commitments to hospitalization rates, a measure considered more reliable than the number of cases per capita.
According to a study recently published in the scientific journal viral, The viral load in the first tests of patients affected by the delta variant was 1,000 times greater than that of patients in the first wave of the virus in 2020.
Not only does the delta variant reproduce within its host faster than previous strains, but infected people spread the virus more into the air, greatly increasing the likelihood of transmission.
Last month, Israel reinstated some mask-wearing requirements, just 10 days after they were lifted, in light of the variable delta spread. Some communities in the United States, such as Los Angeles County, have done the same.
