Where the CDC recommends wearing masks indoors, state by state

For weeks vaccinated Americans believed it was safe to forgo wearing masks indoors. Now, mask requirements are making a comeback.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended that all Americans, regardless of immunization status, wear masks in indoor public places in areas affected by coronavirus outbreaks, a reversal of guidance it offered in may.

About 2,800 counties in the United States are experiencing “substantial” or “high” transmission rates, according to the CDC, and the agency recommends that everyone in those areas wear masks in indoor public places. These designations, which are updated regularly, are based on a region’s per capita case rate or test positivity rate.

The guidance reflects the recent spate of coronavirus cases in many parts of the country, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant. Although the CDC has come under fire for its back and forth recommendations on masks, public health experts say the most recent change was needed.

“All of us, as public health professionals and scientists, are learning about this virus in real time,” said Rachel Graham, professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “These are things that need to be planned on a day-to-day basis. ”

Masks remain a polarizing symbol, and shifting federal guidelines have led some local leaders to introduce their own policies. While some governors are set to demand masks in their state again, many resist the idea of ​​universal mandates for masks. And as students prepare to return to school, at least eight states have introduced legislation prohibiting school districts from requiring masks, against the advice of the CDC.

Some public health experts have repeatedly recommended that the vaccinated and the unvaccinated wear masks.

“Personally, I would have recommended it, anyway,” Dr. Graham said. “Mainly because the full vaccination rate is not as high as we expected. ”

And although the vaccines offered in the United States are very effective in preventing serious illnesses from Covid-19, some experts point to a growing number of reports of people vaccinated testing positive for the coronavirus, and reports of children, previously considered to be. weak. – group at risk, who also contract the virus.

“No vaccine is 100% effective, and we are seeing it,” said Dr. Joshua Liao, a doctor of internal medicine and professor at the University of Washington, who recommends wearing the mask indoors. “If you wait for the science to be perfect with the coronavirus, then you are lagging behind. ”

“I think going back and forth creates a certain fatigue,” he added. “But I think there’s a bigger problem, in the foundation of public health, where it’s not just in our hands, but it’s in the hands of the other.”