About the CDC’s July 27, 2021 Mask Recommendations

Fully-vaccinated people should wear masks
On July 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its masking guidelines to recommend that “fully vaccinated people wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission” (CDC, July 2021). The guidance applies to regions of the country where the virus has “substantial” or “high transmission”; this includes approximately two-thirds of all U.S. counties (A map of those high-transmission areas is here.) In light of this, Made to Save suggests all groups working in communities wear masks indoors.  

The CDC’s decision was based on new data on the highly infectious Delta variant showing three things: 1) the Delta variant is spreading quickly among unvaccinated individuals, 2) a much smaller portion of fully vaccinated individuals are getting infected too, and 3) fully vaccinated individuals who get infected with COVID-19 seem to be just as infectious as unvaccinated individuals.  It is important to note that the vaccines remain very effective at reducing risk of getting infected, and they are extremely effective at reducing risk of hospitalization or death if you do get infected with the Delta variant.

Indoor masking in schools
Furthermore, with students soon returning to in-person classroom settings, the CDC also strongly encourages the use of “universal indoor masking” in schools, regardless of one’s vaccination status.

CDC. (2021, July 28). Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html