Vaccines work well against the delta variant. Here's why you …

Vaccines work well against the delta variant. Here’s why you should wear a mask anyway When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on May 13 that people who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 could go into most public places without a mask, it relied heavily on data that had been collected about the then-dominant alpha variant. The agency pointed to studies showing that fully vaccinated people rarely became infected and were unlikely to transmit the virus to others. COVID-19 cases had plummeted since mid-April and vaccinations were ramping up. But the country was in a different situation when the CDC walked back its recommendations on July 27. Vaccinations have leveled off with just under 50% of the total U.S. population being fully vaccinated, and the highly contagious delta variant is driving another surge in cases. The agency officially recommended that fully vaccinated people living in communities with substantial-to-high transmission rates (defined as 50 or more new cases per 100,000 people in the past seven days)…

If vaccines work against COVID-19, why ask the fully …

If vaccines work against COVID-19, why ask the fully vaccinated to wear masks?I’m not rolling my eyes at the new recommendations that some vaccinated folks wear masks indoors in the fight against the COVID-19 virus — not yet anyway.Masks are effective. It can’t hurt to put them back on for the extra layer of protection, as I’m seeing many people are doing again.But I’m getting a bit edgy with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new directive because it sends a confusing message over the effectiveness of the vaccine.Do vaccines work or not? The CDC and health experts say yes. Fully vaccinated people can still catch the virus but chances of being hospitalized or dying because of it are pretty slim.   Why the mask-up again recommendation? The CDC issued the updated guidelines Tuesday pointing to reports showing an uptick of infections of the delta variant in people fully vaccinated.The revised mask-up recommendation applies to the fully vaccinated in areas with “substantial” and “high” transmission of the virus.Not long ago, the CDC…

Why Wear a Mask After Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine? – Health

Why Masks Are Important, Even After Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine Although COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out across the US in early 2021, the days of wearing face masks weren’t over, as of September 2022. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at reducing the risk of severe illness and death against most variants (new types of the virus). However, vaccinated people can still contract the virus and pass it on, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s why you may need to wear a mask in certain situations, even if you’ve been vaccinated and boosted. Continuing to wear a face mask is also important because of COVID-19 variants that emerged throughout the pandemic, such as Omicron BA.1 or BA.2. Because some variants may be more infectious, they can spread more easily to more people if vaccinated people are able to transmit the virus and don’t wear a mask, Anne Rimoin, PhD, MPH, professor of epidemiology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, told Health. There’s another reason to keep masking up even after you’ve been vaccinated. “In our modern society, we don’t discriminate…

5 Reasons to Wear a Mask Even After You're Vaccinated

5 Reasons to Wear a Mask Even After You’re Vaccinated As an emergency physician, Dr. Eugenia South was in the first group of people to receive a covid vaccine. She received her second dose last week  — even before President-elect Joe Biden. Yet South said she’s in no rush to throw away her face mask. “I honestly don’t think I’ll ever go without a mask at work again,” said South, faculty director of the Urban Health Lab at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe doing that.” And although covid vaccines are highly effective, South plans to continue wearing her mask outside the hospital as well. Health experts say there are good reasons to follow her example. “Masks and social distancing will need to continue into the foreseeable future — until we have some level of herd immunity,” said Dr. Preeti Malani, chief health…

Why You'll Still Need to Wear a Mask After the COVID-19 …

Here’s Why You’ll Still Need to Wear a Mask After Getting Vaccinated for COVID-19Nearly three-quarters of eligible Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines—but cases are rising again, driven largely by unvaccinated people and the highly transmissible Delta variant. One big question remains: Do you have to wear a face mask after you are fully vaccinated? The answer, per the experts, is clear: Yes, at least in certain situations.Getting vaccinated is one of the most important actions you can take in reducing your risk of serious COVID-19 complications, on top of helping to keep your loved ones and community safe. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the available vaccines aren’t 100% effective against new and highly contagious variants, especially in high-risk situations.Although most outdoor activities remain low-risk without wearing a mask, the rise of novel coronavirus variants is prompting officials to take a stronger stance on masking. “To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high…