On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed its guidelines regarding masks, recommending that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors, particularly in parts of the U.S. where the delta variant is surging. They also recommend indoor masks for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors at schools nationwide, regardless of vaccination status.
The new guidance applies to parts of the U.S., with at least 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the last week. That includes 60 percent of U.S. counties, reported the Associated Press. Currently, new case rates are high in the South and Southwest, according to a CDC tracker. Most new infections are still among unvaccinated people. According to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, new unreleased data shows that the level of virus in infected vaccinated people is “indistinguishable” from the level of virus in the noses and throats of unvaccinated people.
Gov. Doug Ducey released a statement following the announcement of the revised guidelines.
“Arizona does not allow mask mandates, vaccine mandates, vaccine passports or discrimination in schools based on who is or isn’t vaccinated. We’ve passed all of this into law, and it will not change,” Ducey commented.
“The CDC today is recommending that we wear masks in school and indoors, regardless of our vaccination status. This is just another example of the Biden-Harris administration’s inability to effectively confront the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Public health officials in Arizona and across the country have made it clear that the best protection against COVID-19 is the vaccine. Today’s announcement by the CDC will unfortunately only diminish confidence in the vaccine and create more challenges for public health officials 一 people who have worked tirelessly to increase vaccination rates.
“Here in Arizona, we’ve been consistent from the beginning: Arizonans should get this vaccine. Over 51 percent of our population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, and over 46 percent are fully vaccinated. That’s great news, and we’re going to continue to work to distribute this vaccine to Arizonans and build public confidence in its effectiveness, despite this unnecessary and unhelpful “guidance” from Washington, D.C.”
