The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are poised Tuesday to recommend that vaccinated persons wear masks in certain indoor settings, signaling at least a partial reversal of high-profile guidance issued two months ago.
The turnabout comes amid concerns about the fast-moving delta variant of the coronavirus that is sparking outbreaks in pockets of the South and the Midwest.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will address reporters in the mid-afternoon. While the specific guidance is unclear, officials had signaled in recent days that a rewrite was in the works as transmission flares.
More vaccinated persons are reporting “breakthrough infections” as the delta variant becomes dominant. Experts say fully vaccinated persons remain far less likely to land in the hospital or die from COVID-19, though there is concern that the viral load in vaccinated persons is great enough to spread the pathogen around to others.
A breakthrough infection becomes more likely, statistically, in places where the virus is swirling at high rates.
The CDC in May said that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear a mask outdoors or indoors in most settings, enthusing people who got their shots while surprising state officials and business leaders who didn’t see the update coming.
Some experts worried the guidance, which was issued before the rise of the delta variant, was premature or would be misapplied by unvaccinated persons who saw it as a permission slip to ditch their masks.
Federal officials are getting skittish as average daily case counts reach over 55,000 per day, the highest levels since April. The White House recently said 40% of cases are from three states with relatively low vaccination rates — Florida, Missouri and Texas.
The average number of hospitalized patients has doubled from about 16,000 at the start of July to 32,000 now.
A reversal on masks Tuesday will likely draw applause from experts who are worried the public isn’t prepared for the delta threat and hackles from people who say 2020-style restrictions will decrease interest in the vaccines.
The Convention of States Action, a conservative nonprofit group, released a Trafalgar Group poll on Tuesday that says 63% of Americans do not want the government to take action to address the delta variant, including more than 8 in 10 Republicans, half of Democrats and 55% of independents.
