‘Vaccinated people should wear masks to avoid transmission’

Washington: People in parts of the United States where the coronavirus (Covid-19) infections are surging should wear masks indoors even if they are fully vaccinated against the disease, the country’s public health agency says.
Citing new information about the ability of the Delta variant to spread among vaccinated people, the US centres for disease control and prevention (CDC) on Tuesday (local time) also recommended indoor masks for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.
“In areas with substantial and high transmission, the CDC recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in public, indoor settings to help prevent the spread of the delta variant and help protect others,” director Rochelle Walensky said at a media briefing.
The US is averaging more than 57,000 Covid-19 cases a day and 24,000 hospitalisations and public health officials for weeks have warned that the Covid-19 infections were increasing, especially in parts of the country with low vaccination rates.
Walensky said while vaccinated Americans represent “a small amount of transmission” – and that the majority of new infections, hospitalisations and deaths was occurring among unvaccinated individuals – vaccinated people still had the ability to pass the virus on to others. – Al Jazeera