By reinstating the wearing of masks in areas at risk even for vaccinated people and by not ruling out a vaccination obligation for federal state employees, the United States clearly toughened the tone on Tuesday
“We have seen an increase in vaccination in recent days but we need to do better. On Thursday, I will outline new steps in our effort to get more Americans vaccinated, ”Joe Biden said in a statement.
The Democratic president also indicated that an anti-Covid vaccination compulsory for federal state employees was “under study”, speaking on the sidelines of a trip on Tuesday.
2.1 million people potentially affected
According to the American authorities, 2.1 million people would be potentially affected, if one sticks to the civilian personnel.
It would also be a major step for the White House, which has so far been very reluctant to introduce any notion of constraint in its approach to vaccination against the coronavirus.
“What I’m sure is that if 100 million more people had been vaccinated, the situation would be very different. Get vaccinated, ”hammered Joe Biden.
The president, who on July 4, the American National Day, still wanted to believe in the “independence” of the United States in the face of the virus, had to change his tone in the face of the rapid spread of the Delta variant.
The health authorities, on Tuesday, revised their recommendations on wearing a mask.
“In areas where transmission (of Covid-19) is high, the CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people wear masks in public places indoors,” said Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for the Prevention and Control of diseases (CDC).
If vaccination remains effective against the Delta variant, new data “indicate that on rare occasions, people vaccinated (…) could be contagious and transmit the virus to others,” she added.
“These new findings are worrying and unfortunately warrant an update of our recommendation.”
According to CDC figures, the number of infections is on the rise in much of the southern United States, but less in the Northeast, which is better vaccinated.
Masks in schools
To curb the spread of the Delta variant, the CDC will also recommend that schools ask teachers, students or visitors to wear the mask, whether or not they are vaccinated.
The CDC was still defending its May recommendation last week that vaccinated people do not need to wear masks indoors under most circumstances, with some exceptions including on public transport and hospitals.
But the Delta variant, which now accounts for around 90% of new Covid-19 cases in the United States, has been a game-changer.
Almost half (49%) of the American population is vaccinated but the differences are large between regions.
The latest seven-day weighted daily average is above 56,000 cases, which is close to April levels.
Having to wear the mask again “does not mean that the quality or level of protection of the vaccine has declined,” said Eric Cioe-Pena, public health expert at Northwell Health.
“It’s a solution to a problem that exists because we have a high level of people who are not vaccinated.”
According to a study published recently in the scientific journal Virological, the viral load in the first tests of patients affected by the Delta variant was 1,000 times greater than that of patients in the first wave of the virus in 2020.
Not only does the Delta variant reproduce within its host faster than previous strains, infected people spread the virus much more in the air, greatly increasing the likelihood of transmission.
Last month, Israel reinstated some mask-wearing requirements, just 10 days after lifting them. Some local communities in the United States, such as Los Angeles County, have done the same.
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