As we enter the 17th month of our two-week lockdown, meant to “flatten the curve”, there are renewed fears that the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t faded just yet. In fact, thanks to the continued prevalence of the “delta” variant, there are plenty of locales here in the United States where the number of COVID cases is increasing.
Further complicating this issue is the fact that our national vaccine push has hit a wall. We’ve only fully vaccinated about half of the eligible folks in America, with a great majority of those who are left unprotected remaining that way of their own volition.
This is pushing the White House into a corner, and some stunning policy reversals could be in the offing.
The Biden administration is reportedly weighing whether to formally urge vaccinated Americans to once again mask up as the country experiences an increase in the number of COVID-19 delta variant cases.
White House aides are in talks with officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about proposed messaging to the public, the Washington Post reported.
People familiar with the discussions told the Post that the White House is hesitant to implement policies that would explicitly mandate people show proof of their vaccination status. One idea reportedly thrown around was to ask Americans to wear masks when vaccinated and unvaccinated people not to congregate in crowded places.
Several “breakthrough” cases of the virus, (cases in which a vaccinated person tests positive for COVID-19), have struck in and around the White House of late, including a number of instances stemming from a Democratic contingent that fled the state of Texas in order to stymy a vote on electoral security, and apparently brought the virus with them.
