CDC recommends masks for totally vaccinated folks in some conditions and is reversing a earlier choice – CBS Pittsburgh

By jimadmin On Jul 27, 2021

WASHINGTON DC / PITTSBURGH, Pa. (CNN / KDKA) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to update their guidelines Tuesday to encourage vaccinated people in certain areas of the country to wear masks again because of Covid-19 .

People in areas with high or significant Covid-19 transmission should resume wearing masks, the CDC is expected to say, according to sources familiar with the announcement. Almost two-thirds of US counties have high or significant Covid-19 transmission, according to CDC data; 46% of the rural districts show a high transmission and 17% show a considerable transmission.

CONTINUE READING: Raccoon rabies vaccine baits are cast from the sky in Allegheny County

CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to announce the decision on Tuesday at a briefing at 3 p.m. ET.

CNN previously reported that senior officials met on Sunday evening to go through the new data and evidence regarding the portability of the variant and breakthrough cases, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

When the CDC updated its mask guidelines two months ago, which said that most fully vaccinated individuals could do without masks indoors, the guidelines changed so quickly that administrative officials were notified less than a day before. This time the process is more methodical as you decide how to go about it.

White House officials have repeatedly stated that it is up to the CDC to change the official guidelines and that they will follow instructions from health and medical experts. Renewed discussions by the government over mask recommendations revision revolve around what messages to mask the White House should be offered and what guidance the CDC should issue, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief Covid-19 medical adviser and director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday that the revision of the mask guidelines for vaccinated Americans is “actively being considered” and that he is part of the discussion . Fauci also said the US is “going in the wrong direction” as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise, particularly among unvaccinated Americans.

CONTINUE READING: Fourth stimulus check: Will there be another aid payment?

President Joe Biden said last week that two dozen members of his Covid response team were investigating the surge in cases and hospitalizations among the unvaccinated and determining whether new mask recommendations were needed.

Officials in several locations, including Los Angeles, have been forced to revert to previous mask requirements due to rising Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations among Americans who have refused to get vaccinated.

It is unclear what this currently means for the state of Pennsylvania, which has seen some COVID-19 cases spike in the past few days. In the past three days, the state has seen an increase of 1,696 new cases, with the number of new cases averaging 500 since last week. Previously, the Ministry of Health had only reported an average of a few hundred cases in its updates.

The White House announced this week that it is maintaining existing coronavirus travel restrictions amid the cases triggered by the Delta variant.

The Biden administration recently extended non-material travel restrictions on the US north and south borders through August 21. The US has not restricted material travel restrictions along both borders since the beginning of the pandemic and has increased those restrictions on a monthly basis.

MORE NEWS: Pennsylvania Transportation Funding Report could spark year-long debate