How the Delta Variant Affects Whether You Should Wear a Mask or Not

As infections involving the new Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus continue to increase around the world, including in the U.S., health experts are yet again revisiting advice about who should wear masks and when. On June 28, the Los Angeles County public health department advised all people, including those who are vaccinated, to wear masks in most indoor public settings, based on the fact that nearly half of the virus from cases in the county that were genetically sequenced now belong to the Delta variant. The variant, first identified in India, is far more contagious than previous strains of SARS-CoV-2, and could cause more severe disease. Then the World Health Organization reaffirmed its advice that vaccinated people continue to wear masks when in public settings as a precaution. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has still not changed its guidance for vaccinated people, last revised in May, which states that fully vaccinated individuals can resume most of their normal activities, without masks. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a broadcast interview that vaccines continue to protect against the Delta variant, and that it’s more important for unvaccinated people to wear masks to protect themselves from getting infected. But she did acknowledge that local and state policies could decide to be more stringent because of rising cases of infections with the Delta variant. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] That’s the case in L.A. county....
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news