THE BULDGING PANDEMIC LEADS TO NEW MASK WEARING GUIDANCE FROM CDC

(The Slice): On Tuesday the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people and students in grades K-12 must wear masks again when they return to in-person learning this fall. Masks are required in schools regardless of vaccination status. This mandate change was spurred by a surge in the Delta variant, a strand of the virus that mutates and duplicates itself for a faster spread. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the concern is that the Delta will render the current trio of available vaccines -- Moderna, Pfizer and J&J --ineffective. Because of this officials are urging everyone to

#maskup in public indoor settings in parts of the country where the coronavirus has a "substantial or high transmission" rate which is now nearly two-thirds of U.S. counties. The dilemma is that not enough people got vaccinated to produce herd immunity and the science is showing the nation is deep diving into a worsening public health crisis. With this update, one thing remains true -- the U.S> remains in an active pandemic and mask wearing coupled with vaccinations is the way out of it.

"Let's get the overwhelming proportion of the population vaccinated and all of this will go away," says Dr. Anthony Fauci. The mitigation will vary across local and state government. Officials hope that universal masking for children, teachers and staff returning to classrooms and mask wearing in public spaces will be practiced nationwide, but he CDC is zoning in on places where the virus is spreading fastest and urging residents in those areas to wear masks. Also, they say people should still get vaccinated even if they’ve already had COVID-19, health agencies and medical experts say This change feels like a set back in combatting the pandemic, but it is necessary to prevent the situation from becoming completely unmanageable. The reversal comes as the government is trying prevent the spread of misinformation that has cause greater vaccine hesitancy. There is some confusion around the CDCs messaging that could lend to further hesitancy. Frist they said vacinnated people would have Yet, the politicizing of the pandemic is at the heart of State that have a high unvaccinated count tend to be the Republican According to data from the CDC, 46.9 percent of counties are considered areas of "high transmission," while 17 percent are considered areas with "substantial" risk of transmission. In May the CDC said fully vaxed people did not have to wear their masks because they were protected against the spread. That language sparked confusion considering what they are saying now. CDC officials are now saying (or clarifying) a vaccine serves as a protective shield against the spread of illness rather than a remedy. The Delta variant is more aggressive than the initial Alpha variant. They have explained that no vaccine provide 100% protection from any airborne virus like the Coronavirus. Officials still say the most effective defense against the illness is to get vaccinated.  

Texas Republican Chip Roy angrily opposed the new requirements from the House floor politicizing the situation as an attack on freedom.