In light of the increasing spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention modified its recommendations to ask those who have been fully vaccinated to return to wearing masks when they are indoors.
"To reduce the risk of Delta variant infection and avoid infecting others, wear a mask in public if you are indoors in an area with substantial or high transmission," the new CDC recommendation states.
In addition, the federal agency urged vulnerable groups to continue to protect themselves against the virus. "You may choose to wear a mask beyond the level of transmission if you have weakened immune systems or if, because of your age or because of an underlying condition, you are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill, or if a member of your household has weakened immune systems, is at increased risk of becoming seriously ill, or has not been vaccinated." , they add on their website.
Advantages of being vaccinated
Vaccines against COVID-19 reduce the risk of infection and of people spreading the virus that causes this disease. According to the CDC, after vaccination, it usually takes the body 2 weeks to build protection (immunity) against the virus that causes COVID-19. You are not considered to be fully vaccinated until 2 weeks after the second dose of a 2-dose vaccine, or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine.
Once people are fully vaccinated, they can resume some of the activities they did before the pandemic, albeit following precautions to maintain social distance, wash their hands frequently and wear a mask indoors.
CDC are still investigating
CDC continues to investigate some aspects related to the protection that vaccines provide against COVID-19. Among the aspects that are still under investigation are:
The level of effectiveness of vaccines in protecting people with weakened immune systems, including people taking immunosuppressive medications.
How long COVID-19 vaccine protection lasts in people.
How many people must be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to consider the population protected (herd immunity).
The effectiveness of vaccines against new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.
To stay updated on everything related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we encourage you to follow the information provided by reliable sources such as the CDC or the World Health Organization.