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People vaccinated or not should use masks indoors, due to the Increase in cases of coronavirus with the Delta variant in the United States, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ).
The face protection will be required, above all, in regions where cases of COVID – 19 increase considerably, said the director of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky , at a telephone press conference.
“The Delta variant shows every day his willingness to outsmart us, ”Walensky said. “This is not a decision we make… lightly… This weighs heavily on me.”
The agency also recommends that schools adopt the mask for staff and students.
“CDC recommends that localities encourage the use of universal inner face protection for all teachers, staff, students, and school visitors, regardless of status. vaccination, ”wrote the CDC in a summary of the new guideline. “Children can return to full-time in-person learning in the fall if appropriate prevention strategies are implemented.” .
The spread of the Delta variant has put health authorities on alert, as it is highly contagious and can lead to hospital with severe health conditions to people who do not have any immunization, but it can also infect people who already have their complete vaccination, although the symptoms in these people are less severe and fatal.
Except for the states of Minnesotta, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland and those corresponding to the New England region, where most of the counties with “moderate” cases, in most of the country’s counties, 63. 46%, infections range from “substantial” to “high.”
In total 1, 495 counties (46. 43%) are in red; 548 (17. 02 %) in orange; 876 (27. 2%) in yellow and only 300 (9. 32%) in blue, as shown by the interactive map from CDC.
The states of greatest concern are Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
As cases and deaths are on the rise , the speed of vaccination is maintained, not because of the lack of doses, but because of the resistance of millions of people to apply the vaccine.
Recent data indicate that only the 49. 2 percent of the general population is fully vaccinated, including over the age of 12 years. The 56. 9% have at minus one dose . The Biden Administration presumes older adult data from 18 years, which indicate that the 63% have full doses, while the 69. 1% have at least one. The figure is still far from the total population.
The bad news for the US is that the infection rate remains above of 35 , 000 per day, although the death toll has not increased severely, hovering between 100 Y 150 up to date, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Biden defends decision
President Joe Biden , who last week announced that he could order children to wear a mask in schools, defended the CDC’s decision on protection of fa cial.
“When I ran for president, I promised to be honest with you about COVID, whether it was good news or bad,” he said. “ Today’s announcement from the CDC that new research and concerns about the Delta variant lead the CDC to recommend a return to masking… is another step in our journey to defeat this virus ”.
He stated that his strategy against coronavirus has worked , since his government has administered more than 300 million vaccines and although he presumed vaccination levels, these have not covered the entire population, because millions of people reject the doses by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson .
“Most importantly, today’s announcement also makes it clear that the most important protection we have against the Delta variant is to get vaccinated ”, he said.
Currently only the 60% of adults are fully vaccinated and near the 70% have at least one vaccine. President Biden advocates that schools can reopen with some care.
“Today, the CDC also reaffirmed that we can safely reopen schools this fall ”, He stated. “Wearing a mask on students is inconvenient, I know, but it will allow them to learn and be with their classmates with the best protection available.”