US plunged into confusion over masks as country hit by Delta

US states have been plunged into confusion over wearing face masks amid a resurgence of disease as the Delta variant wreaks havoc across the country.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was forced to reverse its mask guidance after a new study showed the Delta COVID-19 variant produced similar amounts of virus in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people who were infected by it, alike.

US CDC recommends indoor mask use for vaccinated people

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has demanded the vaccinated US citizens to wear masks to stop the rising number of Covid-19 infections in areas with high transmission rate.

"High viral loads suggest an increased risk of transmission and raised concern that, unlike with other variants, vaccinated people infected with Delta can transmit the virus," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement on Friday.

The CDC Director added on Friday there will be no nationwide mandate for Americans to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

She insisted, however, that getting vaccinated made it less likely that one will catch COVID-19 disease.

However, for those who do catch it, the new study suggests they could have a similar liability of transmission as unvaccinated people, according to the CDC.

Results of the new study prompted CDC to recommend most fully vaccinated Americans wear masks indoors.

However, health experts said people were confused by the reversal of guidelines and conflicting scientific evidence, adding that changing the stance on masks is enough of a reason to ignore the recommendations for some people, especially in more conservative states.

Health experts and local leaders of these states warned that despite the CDC warning, the latest guidance and recommendations to wear masks will be brushed off by a crisis-weary public that has been stressed for a year and a half by sometimes conflicting federal orders and scientific evidence.

“The messaging is complex. The masks came down and people don’t want to wear them again,” said Tom Frieden, who was CDC director during the presidency of Barack Obama.

Some people, who have always taken COVID-19 seriously will mask up again, but the majority of the local population won’t, even though the number of hospitalizations has more than tripled since the beginning of the month, according to William Schaffner, a professor of infectious disease at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“There are parts of our state not only indifferent to masks, they are hostile,” he noted.

"Unfortunately, we can expect COVID numbers to keep growing. People who are unvaccinated or skip their second dose of vaccine are targets for infection," Georgia health commissioner Kathleen E. Toomey was quoted by CNN as saying.

“There’s no doubt there’s a real phenomenon,” Frieden said. “We’re at a turning point where people are coming to the realization that Covid is not over and there is an increased risk that it will kill you if you’re not vaccinated.”

In the meantime, the US recorded the highest new COVID-19 cases worldwide.

On Friday, the US, with over 613 thousand deaths, reported nearly 100,000 new infections.

“Cases are rising, and almost all of those who are hospitalized and dying are unvaccinated,” according to Jen Kates, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation focussed on health issues.

In the U.S. (+territories), here's final #CoronavirusPandemic data for Friday, 7/30:

Total confirmed cases reached 34,945,468 (with a daily increase yesterday of 194,608)

Cumulative total deaths reached ~613,013https://t.co/HnLnwxAoXy

— KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) (@KFF) July 31, 2021

“The data are right there, and I think people are realizing that vaccines are our best bet at controlling this,” she pointed out.

The US has recorded the highest number of COVID deaths among all countries of the world. 

After the US, Brazil, and India, where the double-mutated Delta variant was first found, recorded the largest numbers of COVID deaths with 555 thousand and 424 thousand, respectively.  

Facing rising numbers of COVID-19 cases, especially in areas with lower rates of vaccination, US President Joe Biden has said “in all possibility” new restrictions would be imposed in the US.

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