CDC reverses mask guidance and urges vaccinated Americans to wear masks indoors if they are located in areas with high COVID-19 transmission.
"This new science is worrisome, and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendation," Walensky said.
"Getting vaccinated continues to prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death, even with delta. It also helps reduce the spread of the virus in our community. Vaccinated individuals continue to represent a very small amount of transmission occurring around the country," Walensky said.Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky testifies during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.
The revised guidance raised questions about the CDC's previous decision to no longer recommend masking, indoors or outdoors, for fully vaccinated people, and whether that was an overly confident move that relied too heavily on an honor system for unvaccinated Americans to continue to follow the rules.
CDC recommendations noted that individuals and schools could still opt to wear a mask even if fully vaccinated, but said the risk of illness and transmission was low. "This past year has shown us that this virus can be unpredictable. So, if things get worse, there is always a chance we may need to make a change to these recommendations," she said on May 13.
But she also pointed to low vaccination rates as the reason the delta variant was forcing the change in guidelines in the first place, urging people to step up and get a shot.
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