Preventing The Delta Variant, US Citizens Who Have Been Vaccinated With COVID-19 Are Asked To Wear Masks Again

Illustration of a US citizen wearing a face mask in a public space. (Wikimedia Commons/Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority)

JAKARTA - Health authorities of the United States (US) have advised citizens of these countries who have received full doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, to return to wearing masks in public places, even if they are indoors.

In tightening guidelines issued earlier this month, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommended that all students, teachers, and staff in schools for kindergarten through grade 12 wear masks, even if they have received the COVID-19 vaccine.

This call is inseparable from the increase in cases of infection due to the highly contagious Delta variant, which spreads rapidly and now accounts for more than 80 percent of coronavirus cases in the US today.

US President Joe Biden said increased vaccinations and wearing of masks helped the United States avoid the pandemic lockdowns, closures and school closures it faces in 2020.

"We're not going back there," said President Biden, as quoted by Reuters on Wednesday, July 28.

The CDC said 63.4 percent of US states have transmission rates high enough to warrant indoor closures and should continue with the policy immediately. Manhattan, Los Angeles and San Francisco met the transmission criteria, as did the rest of the State of Florida, but Chicago and Detroit did not.

Meanwhile, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten praised the CDC's new mask guidelines in a statement, calling it a necessary precaution until children under 12 can receive the COVID-19 vaccine, so that more Americans over 12 get vaccinated. .

Previous CDC guidelines for schools only required unvaccinated students to wear masks.

However, the new CDC recommendations are non-binding and many Americans, especially in Republican-leaning states, may choose not to follow them. At least eight states have banned schools from requiring masks.

Dr Isaac Weisfuse, a medical epidemiologist at Cornell University Public Health, said the change was justified even though there might be resistance among some people.

"I think we're going to get hit back because I think people might see it as a setback," Weisfuse said.

Two months ago, when the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people could remove their face coverings, COVID-19 was on the decline. COVID-19 vaccination has slowed down dramatically and only 58 percent of eligible people are fully vaccinated.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the new study shows people who have received full vaccinations and are reinfected carry as much virus as people who have not been vaccinated, as they can transmit the infection to others.

"We feel it's important for people to understand that they can transmit this disease to other people," said Walensky.

Separately, President Biden's Administration confirmed it would not lift existing international travel restrictions, citing the rising number of COVID-19 cases and hopes that they would continue to rise in the weeks ahead, on Monday.