CDC Recommends Wearing Masks Indoors in Certain Areas, Even if Fully Vaccinated
By Erik Canlser
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released new guidance on July 27, 2021 recommending that in certain geographical areas all individuals—even those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19—should resume wearing masks indoors.[1] Recent data shows these areas have “high” or “substantial” COVID-19 transmission rates. Current data from https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view shows over 60% of counties in the U.S. meet the criteria. This new CDC advice means employers across the United States should again review their COVID safety protocols.
The CDC states infections occur in “only a small proportion of people who are fully vaccinated;”[2] and “[w]hen these infections occur among vaccinated people, they tend to be mild.”[3] However, fully-vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant can spread COVID-19 to others.[4] And “[p]eople with weakened immune systems, including people who take immunosuppressive medications, may not be protected even if fully vaccinated.”[5]
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[1] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html (last visited July 28, 2021).
[2] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html; see n.1.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.