Now nearly 17 months into a “two-week lockdown” that was mean to “flatten the curve”, Americans are still teetering on the brink of the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
We’ve seen the light at the end of the tunnel come and go, flicker and fade, and now we’ve found ourselves in a position in which there’s no telling just how far we’ve got left to go – particularly as the “delta” variant of the virus continues to wreak havoc on the unvaccinated portions of society.
Now, just as we thought we were out of the woods, the CDC is making a startling decision.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to recommend Tuesday that fully vaccinated people begin wearing masks indoors again in places with high Covid-19 transmission rates, according to people familiar with the matter.
Federal health officials still believe fully vaccinated individuals represent a very small amount of transmission, according to the sources. Still, some vaccinated people could be carrying higher levels of the virus than previously understood and potentially transmit the virus to others, they said.
The CDC is slated to hold a briefing at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday.
The news comes as America has hit a wall in terms of vaccination percentage, with a vast majority of those who remain unvaccinated having avoided inoculation by choice.
It is within this population that the “delta” variant first emerged, and other mutations could still be forthcoming.
