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CLEVELAND, Ohio – Many are feeling confused by the federal government’s latest recommendation that even fully vaccinated people should wear a face mask in areas with high COVID-19 transmission.
Some are even frustrated. They assumed the vaccines gave them enough protection to live without a mask.
Yet new recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed the calculus in Ohio. Giant Eagle grocery stores now require masks for everyone, and Ohio State University will require them when students return to campus.
Why should this be the case when vaccines are still very effective in preventing serious illness? The answer, in large part, comes down to protecting others.
The more transmissible delta variant increased the chances that a fully vaccinated person could transmit the virus, a face mask provides additional protection for everyone else. This increases the risk for those around you. This includes children under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible for the vaccine, or anyone at higher risk for serious illness.
“If I am exposed to this delta variant, I can take it home to my young children, I can take it to my elderly parents, or pass it on to someone who is immunocompromised,” said Dr Kristin Englund, expert in Infectious diseases. at the Cleveland Clinic. “It’s the right thing for us to do to make sure we’re protecting everyone around us from getting, by wearing a mask.”
Wearing a mask in indoor public spaces is now recommended for everyone in Cuyahoga County, which on Saturday reached the CDC threshold for “substantial” transmission of COVID-19. Health Council Commissioner Terry Allen tweeted the development on Monday.
It may seem frustrating that the CDC reversed its own guidelines two months ago, when it said that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks in public. But the new data on the delta variant has changed the conversation, said Dr Amy Edwards, infectious disease specialist at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. She said it was time for those fully vaccinated to “get back to basics” to help protect everyone around them, especially those at high risk for serious illness.
“We are just facing worse COVID now than we faced three months ago, and the masks are working. Masks reduce exposure to the virus, ”Edwards said. “And right now, with the delta variant, we need any reduction we can get.”
Not everyone is convinced that fully immunized Americans should start wearing masks again in high transmission areas. Dr Amy Ray, infectious disease expert at MetroHealth, said she believes the focus should always be on getting as many vaccines as possible, as injections are still the best protection against the virus.
Dr Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health who has been a leading voice during the pandemic, expressed a similar opinion last week when he doubted the new mask recommendations would do much. to help.
However, Ray said she supports the idea of wearing a face mask in public if you are spending time with someone at higher risk.
“I am very much in favor of masking if you are vaccinated and you live with someone who cannot be vaccinated, who is at risk of serious illness,” she said.
How has the situation changed for the vaccinated?
The CDC’s new recommendation was prompted by worrying data about the delta variant, which has led to a wave of infections in the United States. This increases the chances that they can pass the virus on to others, especially those who have not yet been vaccinated.
“Vaccinated individuals, even asymptomatic vaccinated individuals, have much higher viral loads than with previous variants,” Edwards said. “The concern is that people who have been vaccinated might be able to spread COVID better than before. “
A CDC study into a COVID-19 outbreak in Massachusetts reinforced this idea. According to the study, three-quarters of the 469 people who tested positive after a July 4 celebration in Provincetown have been fully vaccinated.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that vaccines are still very effective, doctors in Cleveland said. The CDC reported that there had been at least 125,000 “breakthrough” infections in the United States out of more than 164 million Americans who were fully vaccinated. This means that breakthrough infections were found in just 0.08% of Americans who were fully vaccinated.
In addition, the vaccines have been very effective in keeping the vast majority of these breakthrough infections mild, Englund said.
“I think for people who have been vaccinated they should feel very comfortable being vaccinated and they are much less likely to get serious illness, be hospitalized or die from COVID, even from this delta variant.” , she said.
What does this mean for the unvaccinated?
For anyone who has not received a COVID-19 vaccine, the delta variant poses a serious risk. Internal CDC documents first obtained by the Washington Post revealed that the CDC believes it could be as contagious as chickenpox, and some studies have suggested it could cause more serious illness.
For this reason, doctors in Cleveland believe the focus should always be on vaccinating as many people as possible. Having everyone wearing a mask will add another layer of protection against the delta variant, but it’s not as effective as a vaccine.
Only 49.5% of Ohio residents started their vaccinations on Tuesday and only 46.2% were fully vaccinated.
“The main message is that 50% of our community remains at risk of serious infection with COVID because they are not immune,” said Ray.
For some, getting the vaccine is not an option at the moment. Pfizer said it doesn’t expect to seek approval for children under 12 until at least fall, while Moderna has targeted winter or early 2022. And although most people over 12 years old can be vaccinated, there are very rare exceptions, such as anyone with a specific allergy to the ingredients of the vaccine.
Edwards acknowledged that it could be frustrating for a vaccinated person to dust off their mask. But she believes the delta variant poses enough risk for us to change our behavior to protect those around us and stop the spread of the virus.
“This is a different COVID from the one we faced a year ago. It’s a different COVID than the one we faced four months ago, ”she said. “And when science changes, we have to change with it.”
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