CDC to recommend new indoor mask mandates, including in schools
By Jackie Salo and Steven Nelson
July 27, 2021
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will issue new guidelines Tuesday that recommend indoor mask mandates for fully vaccinated people in areas experiencing spikes in COVID-19 cases.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the CDC will be unveiling the updated advice later Tuesday, which will mark a change of course for the agency after it gave the green light in May for vaccinated people to ditch their masks in most settings.
“The reality is, we’re dealing with a much different strain of this virus than we were even earlier in the spring back in May when the masking guidance was done,” Psaki said at her daily press briefing.
“Their job [at CDC] is to look at evolving information, evolving data, an evolving historic pandemic and provide guidance to the American public. That’s exactly what they will do and what they will provide specific details on later this afternoon,” she added.
Meanwhile, a health official told CNN the agency will also recommend K-12 school faculty and students wear a mask when they return to class, regardless of vaccination status. However, it is unclear if this will be recommended nationwide or just in coronavirus hotspots.
The change comes amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, which has driven surges across the country and now comprises around 83 percent of cases nationwide, according to the CDC.
Federal health officials believe that vaccinated people do not account for a significant amount of transmission, but acknowledge that they may be carrying higher levels of the virus than previously understood, sources told CNBC.
However, the guidance will only be a recommendation, leaving the final call up to state and local officials, the outlet reported.
Several cities and towns, including Los Angeles, St. Louis and Savannah, Georgia, have already reinstated masking rules.
White House Chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that the CDC was considering whether to update its mask guidance.
“This is under active consideration,” Fauci said on CNN’s “State of Union.”
“If you look at what’s going on locally in the trenches in places like LA County, the local officials have the discretion and the CDC agrees with that ability and discretion capability to say, ‘You know, you’re in a situation where we’re having a lot of dynamics of infection so even if you are vaccinated, you should wear a mask,’” he explained.
The seven-day average of new COVID cases in the US jumped 53 percent from the previous week, the CDC said Thursday.
But health officials have stressed that cases are being driven by unvaccinated Americans.
Currently, people who are not vaccinated account for around 99.5 percent of COVID-19 deaths and 97 percent of hospitalizations, officials said.
https://nypost.com/2021/07/27/cdc-to-recommend-some-vaccinated-people-wear-masks-indoors/
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