CDC Recommends Mask-Wearing Among Vaccinated In Some Areas

WASHINGTON, DC — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance Tuesday calling for vaccinated Americans to resume mask-wearing indoors in certain circumstances.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the agency recommends people in areas with "high" or "substantial" COVID-19 transmission should wear masks indoors, even if they are vaccinated, according to a CNN report. CDC data shows nearly two-thirds of counties across the country fall into those categories.

"In recent days, I have seen new scientific data from recent outbreak investigations showing that the Delta variant behaves uniquely differently from past strains of the virus that cause COVID-19," Walensky said during a news conference.

Prompted by a rising number of cases in dozens of states, the new guidelines are a reversal from previous guidance in May that said Americans vaccinated against the coronavirus did not have to wear masks in most indoor settings .

The new guidance also calls for vaccinated people with vulnerable individuals in their homes, including young children and those who are immunocompromised, to wear masks indoors in public spaces, according to a report from The Washington Post.

The sudden about-face is based on new data showing that vaccinated people infected with the highly contagious delta variant may carry the same viral load as unvaccinated people with the infection, according to the Post.

When the CDC issued its guidance in May, it based the decision on scientific studies showing the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were 94 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in those who received two doses, and 82 percent effective in those who had received one dose.

The studies, however, were conducted before the delta variant become the predominant variant in the United States.