From Seeking Alpha"Pointing to the Delta variant and a high...

From Seeking Alpha

"Pointing to the Delta variant and a high number of unvaccinated individuals, the CDC has reversed its indoor mask policy, saying fully vaccinated people and kids should wear face coverings indoors. New data from the agency apparently suggests that fully vaccinated individuals can carry high enough viral loads that can infect other people because Delta behaves "uniquely differently from past strains of the virus." Guidance from the CDC is only a recommendation, meaning states and local officials will have to decide whether to reintroduce mask rules.

Across the country: Some regions have already recommended or required that residents resume wearing masks indoors, including 17 counties in California and Clark County, Nevada, which houses Las Vegas casinos. Localities from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Provincetown, Massachusetts, have also issued an "indoor mask advisory" regardless of vaccination status. The updated guidance comes ahead of the fall season, when Delta is expected to cause another surge as employers bring workers back to the office and kids head back to school.

"More vaccinations and mask wearing in the areas most impacted by the Delta variant will enable us to avoid the kind of lockdowns, shutdowns, school closures, and disruptions we faced in 2020," President Biden said following the CDC guidance. He's also expected to lay out additional steps today to get more Americans jabbed. Among them will be a requirement that all federal employees and contractors be vaccinated against COVID-19, or be required to submit to regular testing and mitigation requirements.

It's confusing: While higher rates of transmission have been seen in areas that are less vaccinated, like much of the U.S. South and Western states, other data has shown conflicting outcomes. The Bay Area News Group found that five California counties, Los Angeles, San Diego, Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco, had both a higher percentage of people who are fully vaccinated than the state average and a higher average daily case rate. That compares to five other California counties, like Modoc, Glenn, Lassen, Del Norte, and San Benito, which have below-average vaccination rates and decreasing case rates. Before the Delta variant, vaccines were previously thought to reduce COVID-19 transmission, but several factors may also be playing a part in the latest analysis like population density and willingness to be tested.

Statistics: The weekly average of new daily COVID-19 infections in the U.S. is more than 57,000, an increase of 65% from the week prior, according to data from Johns Hopkins University."