CDC once again recommends masks indoors for vaccinated people

Walensky
In mid-May the CDC lifted mask recommendations for vaccinated people indoors. The reasoning was that vaccinated people should have been protected against coronavirus. States and major retailers soon lifted mask requirements for vaccinated people. Many experts and concerned people disagreed with this decision. Non-vaccinated people would surely just stop wearing masks since many of them weren’t bothering all along. With cases rising nationwide as the more virulent Delta variant spreads, the CDC has is now recommending that vaccinated people wear masks in public inside again, in areas with high transmission rates. They’re also recommending that schools require masks for teachers, staff and students. It’s up to states and localities to impose mask mandates, once again. Many already have.

In a call with reporters on Wednesday, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said that this decision was spurred by data showing vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant have similar viral loads to unvaccinated people. The Delta variant is so transmissible because people infected with it have a viral load 1,000 times higher than other variants. Vaccinated people are still of course protected against hospitalization and death. Here’s more, from CNBC:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Tuesday that fully vaccinated people begin wearing masks indoors again in places with high Covid-19 transmission rates. The agency is also recommending kids wear masks in schools this fall.

Federal health officials still believe fully vaccinated individuals represent a very small amount of transmission. Still, some vaccinated people could be carrying higher levels of the virus than previously understood and potentially transmit it to others.

“As you have heard from me previously, this pandemic continues to pose a serious threat to the health of all Americans,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters on a call. “Today, we have new science related to the delta variant that requires us to update the guidance regarding what you can do when you are fully vaccinated.”

The updated guidance comes ahead of the fall season, when the highly contagious delta variant is expected to cause another surge in new coronavirus cases and many large employers plan to bring workers back to the office. In mid-May, the CDC said fully vaccinated people didn’t need to wear masks in most settings, whether indoors or outdoors.

“In areas with substantial and high transmission, CDC recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in public, indoor setting to help prevent the spread of the delta variant, and protect others. This includes schools,” Walensky said. The CDC recommends that everyone grade schools wear masks indoors, “including teachers, staff, students and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.”

Walensky said new data shows the variant behaves “uniquely differently from past strains of the virus,” indicating that some vaccinated people infected with the delta variant “may be contagious and spread the virus to others.”

[From CNBC]

I’ve been wearing a mask all along and as you may remember I strongly disagreed with lifting mask recommendations. This was premature by the CDC and the reporting at the time was that it left the White House scrambling because it was done without consulting them. President Biden is once again graciously following the CDC’s guidance. He issued a statement saying that he and his administration would wear masks in areas with high transmission rates. Biden said in a statement that “I hope all Americans who live in the areas covered by the CDC guidance will follow it; I certainly will when I travel to these areas.” The House and The White House are now requiring masks again. The White House is still considering whether to require coronavirus vaccinations for all federal employees. I hope they make the right decision and do require proof of vaccination.

You can see your county’s transmission rate on the CDC’s site. Just wear a mask regardless.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks to Intelligence Community workforce

Jen Psaki Briefs Reporters at the White House

Embed from Getty Images

Photos credit: Avalon.red and Getty

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66 Responses to “CDC once again recommends masks indoors for vaccinated people”

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  1. SusieQ says:

    I read a really good Letter to the Editor in the NYT yesterday. It was written by the CMO of one of the Indiana hospital systems, and he is calling for a vaccine mandate. He talked about mask mandates and how they were an effective tool while we didn’t have vaccines, but now that we have vaccines, they need to be mandated because that’s the only way through this.

    I work for a health system in the South, and we’re finally mandating Covid-19 vaccination for all coworkers because the vaccination rates within the system have been so abysmal.

    • Katherine says:

      Totally. Plus I think boosters should be available for those who want them.

    • Size Does Matter says:

      Love the mandates, especially for people in healthcare. I know I’ve felt what was probably a false sense of security taking my kids to medical and dental appointments – you’d assume people in the field would believe in science and be vaccinated.

      I also believe short of taking away federal funding, there will be no way to get some of our governors to get on board with mandates. There’s a special place in hell for Governor Abbott.

      • SusieQ says:

        The worst part about the system where I work is that non-clinical staff like me have been much more willing to get the vaccine than the clinical staff.

      • Turtledove says:

        “you’d assume people in the field would believe in science and be vaccinated”

        I absolutely assumed this. And it is sadly so not the case. I don’t have any studies or numbers in front of me to say what percentage of these people ARE vaccinated, but jsut through talking to friends and reading people’s tales on the web, a lot aren’t.

        My friend’s cousin is married to an RN, the RN is not vaxxed and believes “nothing foreign should go in the body.” So, if she gets a highly treatable form of cancer will she do chemo, or die needlessly?

        I saw another post on FB. A woman takes care of an older man who is immuno compromised and he can’t get the vax. SHE is not vaxxed. Apparently she will be travelling with him to his kids wedding and the bride and groom want everyone tested the morning of the event, and she was posting to ask strangers if she is being difficult by refusing the test. (to be clear, she will not atttend the function, juts stay at the hotel to provide care for her client) Anyway, my first thought was, how is this highly vulnerable client ok with a NON vaxxed caretaker? (He has a heart condition AND is on dialysis, so I would think Covid would likely be a death sentence) But then all the comments were worse. A woman and her partner both work at a hospital, and they were there for the thick of it with covid last year and neither got sick. So apparently that means it is ok to NOT get vaxxed. I don’t even understand. They were just very lucky. That doesn’t mean vaccines aren’t needed. It is all really shocking how uninformed some people are.

      • tealily says:

        Early on in all this my mom, who’s a retired nurse, was at a medically necessary appointment during the height of the closures. She said her nurse at the appointment was badmouthing masks and vaccines and talking about why she would never get one. My mom (and I) were completely appalled. Thank god that nut didn’t infect my mom, who was already in fragile health at the time.

      • Anna says:

        @Turtledove How in God’s name are people being so stupid? It just boggles my mind. Sigh…

    • Kelly says:

      I work for a public university and currently, our campus higher ups are not making it a requirement that you have to be vaccinated to be on campus and live in the dorms. All the covid public health signage and space limitation were lifted beginning of June because of the push to return to normal.

      I’m relieved that we still have our plexiglas barriers in a staff office, so they can be put back up again, hopefully next week. I’m in the Midwest and a month ago, we were averaging less than 100 cases a day statewide. Today, there was almost 800 new cases. The county issued a recommendation that all people wear masks indoors yesterday, because of the surge, even though our county has the highest vaccination rate in the state at 70%.

      I was concerned that we were reopening too fast and my concerns were downplayed by coworkers. I was concerned about a repeat of last fall when campus shut down and went almost all virtual after 2 weeks of classes. Normally, I would be gloating that I was right and my colleagues had gotten too overconfident, but I’m not because of how serious covid is. Covid is the one exception where I don’t gloat over how shortsighted and myopic some of my colleagues can be. I just hope that we can make adjustments in our services so that staff, students and faculty feel safe.

  2. Stephanie says:

    I thought the CDC jumped the gun when they lifted the requirement. As for the people who are not vaccinated… what will it actually take for them to get it at this point? I got mine in March as soon as I could. I work with a lot of people who don’t want it- the majority of them being guys in their 20s/30s who refuse to get it. Not sure what it’s going to take for more people to get it but as long as they’re not vaccinated, this won’t go away.

    • GuestWho says:

      You can tell the guys you work with that tests show it lives in testicles and penises for a long time and can lead to sexual dysfunction (I read that just this morning).

      • Anna says:

        haha yes That is the only way. Threat to their dicks and all of a sudden they’ll be lining up for it. Sigh…

    • cassandra says:

      At this point, I don’t think the unvaccinated (not counting those with health conditions) will ever willingly get vaccinated. Someone they know will have to get a serious case of Covid or their finances will have to be impacted for them to vaccinate.

      • Chaine says:

        I agree. I have colleagues, we are talking people with graduate degrees, who are full on MAGA and ridiculously anti-science to the point of attacking me verbally for expressing concern about Delta variant and low vaccination rate in our state. I get told to my face “It’s just a flu, if you’re not old or fat there’s nothing to worry about” “people are dying from vaccine side effects” and “no one is dying from Covid, the hospitals are just diagnosing people who have other sicknesses with Covid to make money”—I have given up hope we will ever get enough people vaccinated to reach herd immunity. MAGA/Russian propaganda has ensured that this virus will keep circulating and mutating forever.

      • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

        There was an interview on the news yesterday or the day before with this yahoo, who was recovering from Covid, had been in ICU, was looking to be released from the hospital soon, and he said he STILL WOULD NOT get vaccinated, that he doesn’t believe that Covid is “that bad” while SITTING IN A HOSPITAL BED, WITH AN OXYGEN CANNULA STILL IN HIS NOSE!

        Frankly, at this point, if you are medically able to be vaxxed and refuse to, I think insurance should be able to refuse to pay for hospitalization/care, or you should just be turned away from the hospital, period, and not put FLW/ Drs/Nurses/ other patients at risk because of your stupidity.

      • deering24 says:

        Hey, either they will die–or go broke from recurring medical costs. Life is short, but it’s real short when you’re stupid.😒😒

      • Anna says:

        @(TheOG) This is why there needs to be at very least a priority list for those who are vaccinated when it comes to hospital care. People who refused to be vaccinated, who refuse to accept that there is an actual covid virus mutating around the world, who refuse to mask: they do not get to enter hospitals and take up valuable beds and supplies. Sorry not sorry. I look forward to when this will be mandated. I can’t stand hearing about how medical staff are bending over backwards to help these assholes.

      • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

        Anna, don’t know if you’ll see this, but I SO AGREE with you!!!! A MILLION times!

    • LadyMTL says:

      I think it’s as Cassandra said, at this point the people who don’t want to get vaccinated just won’t unless it really hits close to home. I’ve seen countless stories on the news showing people with kids or other family members in the hospital, and they’re all saying ‘oh, I wish we had gotten vaccinated’. Sad to say but for a lot of people they just don’t care.

      That said, dropping the mask mandate always seemed really premature to me. Here in Quebec we’ve had mask mandates pretty much since last April – with slight variations like now we don’t have to wear them outdoors – and it probably won’t be going away any time soon. That’s fine with me.

    • Katherine says:

      I know people who are “waiting to see how it goes” or “planning to vaccinate after dealing with XYZ life issue” or “just haven’t gotten to it”, so I guess at least some people might do it still. Will take another campaign though to get them to move but they might still do it.

    • KL says:

      My hope is that increasing pressure from societal forces will eventually alienate these people to the point that they cave. Sorry not sorry – there are consequences to all choices, and when it comes to refusing the vaccine, the consequence is that your participation in society is severely limited.

      It would start with employers telling their workers, “This is a private business and we require all workers to be vaccinated for the overall safety of the staff as a whole. Your options are to get the vaccine or quit.” Right now, employers are too scared to do it, because they think they aren’t legally allowed to enforce these types of rules. However, the delta variant is no joke. Eventually, enough vaccinated staff members complaining to the boss about “that one guy” and threatening to quit if he continues to be indulged will move the dial in the direction of mandating vaccines at work. Once that happens, refusing the vaccine on principle will cost you your job. This will be a huge motivating factor.

      Businesses must continue to refuse service to unvaccinated individuals. Now, you’ve lost your job and you can’t do anything or go anywhere.

      Friend groups where everyone but that one guy is vaccinated will eventually stop hanging out with that guy. So now you’ve got no job, no friends, and you can’t go anywhere.

      Is all of that worth sticking to the principle of not getting the vaccine? I doubt it.

      It will take more time than it should, but enough pressure eventually takes its toll.

      • Amanda says:

        You aren’t wrong.

      • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

        I’ve said this same thing on my Twitter feed: I will PROUDLY show my vaxxed bar code or card to get into a venue, bar, restaurant, store, etc. NO problem with this, Going into these places is a *priviledge* NOT a *right*. So unless you are under 12 or have a *VALID/PROVEABLE* medical reason, if you don’t want to get vaxxed? Fine. Your decision. Sit your ass home and stay there.

      • Anna says:

        This

    • Lemons says:

      The employees at the CDC are getting to comfortable at their after-work happy hours. This is the only reason I can find for how much they have fumbled the ball on this. Everyone knew that lifting the mask mandate was a bad idea because dumb Americans are going to stay dumb. Yet, here we are now with ANOTHER backtrack as if they couldn’t predict human behavior that is entirely predictable.

  3. Becks1 says:

    Sigh, time to get out the masks again. I was wearing one indoors probably 50% of the time, but now I’ll go back to just wearing it as a matter of course. I said in the other post that my boys still wear them and my older one said to me that he didn’t even really notice anymore.

    I work for the federal government and while vaccines arent required yet, they really have done what they can to make getting the vaccine as easy as possible – admin leave for first and second dose, additional covid-admin leave for any side effects (so you don’t have to use sick leave), things like that. My agency interacts with the public directly (I don’t, but a lot do) so my guess is they will make vaccines mandatory for those people at the very least.

    • Becks1 says:

      and LOL, we just got an email as soon as I sent that comment about CDC guidance and reminding everyone that masks are required on all agency property and have been since the beginning of the pandemic.

    • Agirlandherdog says:

      My husband also works for the govt, and he told me back when his agency sent out an email just asking who would be interested in receiving the vaccine, only 60% bothered to reply. That’s not even 60% saying they wanted it. That’s just 60% replying to the email saying yes or no.

      I think the govt should mandate in every situation they can.

    • L84Tea says:

      Yep, I work for a hospital and they have made it so easy for us to get vaccinated. If you have any side effects from it and don’t feel well, you’re allowed to go home and still be paid. Our CEO was sadly killed in an accident over the weekend and he was a HUGE proponent of getting the shot, and was even the first person in our state to receive it. Even working here in a hospital with COVID patients, almost out of beds, a large percentage of the medical staff are refusing the shot–which our CEO apparently said last week that he felt like he was failing at his job for not having convinced all of them to do it. It’s very frustrating. All of those fears I felt back in March 2020 are all coming back. 🙁

  4. Astrid says:

    I work for the Federal Government (from home) and woke up to an email this morning reminding us that if we’re in a high virus zone, we all need to be masked up in the office. which is a good thing. And also in the news this morning was the news that Biden is considering requiring all federal employees to be vaccinated. I”m on board with this. I’m sure there will be op outs for some people with special circumstances. While most of us feds aren’t medical personal, we still serve the people and we should keep each other safe and set a good example.

  5. DC Gal says:

    The CDC NEVER should have lifted the mandate in May. They can try to put the horse back in the barn, but this new guidance is also muddled, and won’t do it. As the parent of an unvaccinated kid, thanks!!

    • Turtledove says:

      DC Gal. I agree completely. Having a sign at Target or the Grocery store that says “If you are vaccinated, we don’t require a mask” just opened the floodgates to allow all the anti maskers to STOP wearing them. Nothing is stopping them. I also think masks should not have been dropped until things were MUCH better, for an extended length of time. Things were barely “looking up” when they were dropped.

      I also don’t think all the back and forth from the CDC has been helpful. So many mixed messages in the beginning, first we were told NOT to wear mask, than to do so. And many other guidances flip flopped. *I* understand that this is how science works, you learn more as time goes on and adapt. But I do think it adds fire for the non-science based to say “see, they don’t know what they are talking about.”

      • Becks1 says:

        I assume that most people I see without masks aren’t vaccinated, which isn’t entirely reasonable in my area bc our vaccination rate is pretty good, but that’s just my go-to thought.

      • Anna says:

        @Becks1 Same. People who are smart are masking and vaxxing. Those who are on the other end are not. Operating under that framework is the only way to stay alive. I don’t have time or inclination to try to figure out if every unmasked person is vaccinated. For my safety and my life, I must assume they are not. Otherwise, why would they put their lives and my life in danger?

  6. Jen says:

    I understand it, but it’s getting hard not to be angry at people who insist on pushing us back. My friend is a nurse in Dallas and said 98.4% of the COVID patients at her hospital are unvaccinated-hearing that and also accepting I’m back to wearing a mask is just so discouraging and infuriating at this point.

  7. Case says:

    I never stopped wearing mine knowing Delta was on the rise. The CDC’s announcement in May was so ill-advised; good luck getting the genie back in the bottle now. All this did was make it much more difficult for people like retail workers, who do not need this crap, to enforce masking. And they were having a hard time to begin with.

    I’m frustrated with and embarrassed by the CDC. This makes them seem like they don’t know what they’re doing; they knew about the Delta variant when they made the general no-mask announcement, AND when they said vaccinated people didn’t have to wear masks in schools just a couple weeks ago (not to mention they’ve been ignoring the medically fragile and young people who can’t get vaccinated with all these restrictions lifting). Imagine how much better cases would be right now if we’d just kept our damn masks on while Delta washed over us.

    • Anna says:

      Agreed @Case The CDC has zero cred now and it already had next to zero amongst the anti-vaxx and anti-mask crowd. They’ll never get that back and it will be up to what @KL details above for them to finally get ostracized into getting vaccinated or masking up.

  8. Snuffles says:

    Every time I leave the house I wear my mask, goggles, gloves (to keep myself from touching my face as I usually do) and a portable air purifier around my neck. This on top of being fully vaccinated.

    • sa says:

      I don’t wear gloves, but my cat stopped greeting me at the front door last week, so maybe I should start – since covid, I won’t pet her or pick her up until after I wash up and change, and after over a year of not being pet at the front door, she just stopped greeting me and it’s making me sad 🙁

      I never stopped wearing a mask when I go out, or even getting annoyed at those not wearing masks. (I know some of them may be vaccinated, so I’m not necessarily right to be annoyed at them, but I am anyway).

      • olliesmom says:

        It’s good to hear that other people are doing the same thing! My cat meets me at the door too and I don’t touch her until I walk into the kitchen and wash my hands.

  9. rainbowkitty says:

    I’ve been fully vaxxed for a while but I still wear a mask when I’m shopping… grocery store, costco, pharmacy. I have yet to go to a mall.

    • Chaine says:

      I have been to the mall once. Lots of stores at mine have shut down and it was weirdly empty, except Bath & Body Works was having some kind of candle sale and that one store was packed with crazed unmasked shoppers.

  10. CJ says:

    I never stopped wearing it A) as a sign of solidarity and B) my youngest can’t be vaccinated yet. Only place I don’t wear it is my gym because it’s never crowded, I’m rarely with 10 feet of anyone.
    I want her to feel supported because she is very conscious she is the only one who isn’t vaccinated and I don’t want to be the one who passes it to her, no matter how safe I feel

  11. Twin falls says:

    The only people and areas that will follow this mask guidance are the same ones who followed it originally and are more than likely vaccinated. My county is at 70% vaccination rate and we are about to go back to indoor mask requirements for everyone and 💯 schools here will require masks in the fall.

    The only way out of this for the country is a vaccine mandate and since that’s not happening let’s all settle in for another cluster fuck of a year.

  12. damejudi says:

    I work in a public library, and in my department, we never stopped wearing masks. The scariest, (and most disappointing) thing to witness is so many parents coming to the building with their young kids-unmasked.

    I live in IL, so it’ll be interesting to wait for Pritzker’s response. Especially after Lollapalooza this weekend.

    Sigh.

    Mask up, stay safe.

    • faithmobile says:

      I kept my mask on in solidarity for my under 12 kids except outdoors, but they still wore theirs at parks out of habit and because most other kids in the area kept their’s on too. But when I see masked adults grocery shopping with unmasked children, it’s seems so selfish to keep yourself safe whilst exposing your child. At this point, I can’t see a future without indoor masks. Also bring on the vaccine mandates!

    • olliesmom says:

      I live in Illinois too and have been waiting for Gov Pritzker to lock the whole thing down again. If things keep progressing at the current rate I think that it won’t be long. I work at a state university and we are required to wear our masks in public/common areas/when around other people vaxxed or not.

      I forgot about Lollapalooza in Chicago this weekend. Yikes.

    • Anna says:

      Omg I’m petrified about Lollapalooza this weekend. It feels like with this heat wave and all the air trapped into downtown, the whole Loop area is going to be infested with covid, just breathing the air will get you infected. Ugh. I’m staying away from that part of the city for sure cuz you know those folks will be all up in each other’s faces and likely not a mask (or vaccination) in sight.

  13. Sunday says:

    The CDC needs to hire a new comms team. The one and only thing they’ve been consistent with since the start of the pandemic is their absolutely abysmal media strategy. Anyone with a brain knew that lifting mask mandates on the honor system – ‘if you’re vaccinated you don’t have to wear a mask!’ – was naive at best and, in reality, completely idiotic. And now they’ve backed themselves into a messaging corner, because as vaccinated people contract the virus (as we KNEW would happen), you have the conservative outrage machine ready to go with the “well what’s the point of being vaccinated if you still get covid” and “the vaccine makes you sick” talking points. It’s absolutely maddening.

    • deering24 says:

      Are Trump people still running things over there, or something? This craziness was par for the course with them…

  14. thaisajs says:

    I never really stopped wearing a mask indoors and it seemed like many people where I live (Northern Virginia) were doing the same. But I think I am going to move back to takeout from restaurants and a planned visit to Indiana to see my mom, in which I was going to fly, will probably be by car. I don’t worry about dying from COVID anymore, but my 8 year old can’t be vaccinated and I worry she could get sick.

  15. MsIam says:

    I never stopped wearing a mask indoors. The area I live in has been pretty good about masking up but the vaccination rate is low, around 30% the last time I checked. I hope this Delta variant will be the thing that pushes it to at least 50%. But the “logic” used about this whole pandemic is insane. 700k have died of COVID but “it’s not that dangerous”. A few hundred have side effects from the vaccine which has been given to millions and its ” too dangerous “. Sigh.

  16. Lila says:

    I never stopped wearing a mask. I hope a mandate gets reinstated in our area. We’re only in the 30 percents for fully vaccinated, but to go in public, you’d think it was in the 90s. It’s wild.

  17. BabyLawyerIncoming says:

    One of my neighbors works with the White House on pandemic response, which involves tracking vaccination rates among various demographics. He told me something I haven’t been able to find a lot of media coverage of – apparently, one of the most undervaccinated groups is men aged 18-29. Young men aren’t necessarily opposed to the vaccine in the same way other groups are, but a combination of feeling like they’re low-risk from the virus and general apathy about making health appointments means that they’re not taking the initiative to schedule their vaccines. My neighbor said that “carrots” like offering a free beer with a vaccine (like some counties were doing in partnership with local breweries) or “sticks” like vaccine mandates from their employers were very effective at raising vaccination rates among this group at least.

    I thought this was interesting and it gave me some hope that we hadn’t hit an impenetrable wall with the remaining non-vaccinated people in the country. I’m still masking even though I’m fully vaccinated but I have some optimism that more employers, including the federal government, will require vaccines soon!

    • H says:

      I love your name, @BabyLawyerIncoming.

      I saw this last week. I had a flood in my basement. The kids (and they were both about 20) who were sent by my insurance company to rip out the wet carpeting were not vaxxed. (I asked). When I told them they needed a mask to go in my house, they looked at me as if I were insane. When I asked about their company’s mask policy, suddenly they wanted to know if I had a mask they could use. I did.

      My cousin is a traveling nurse working on a Covid ward in Arizona. She had a healthy 19 y.o. code on her last week and die. Delta is taking no prisoners and I’m masking up again.

  18. NL says:

    We need new leadership in CDC, their past actions are leading to mistrust in the public.

  19. AmelieOriginal says:

    I definitely went on a mini rant on my Instastory yesterday chastising the CDC for their poor guidelines lol. I currently work as a crisis counselor for one of those temporary COVID-19 emotional support programs. And while people seemed less interested in calling us in recent months due to the burst of optimism following the vaccine rollout, I knew this would blow up in the CDC’s face as soon as they said vaccinated people could go around unmasked. Our FEMA COVID crisis counseling program contract was extended until the end of the year and now I won’t be surprised if it’s extended another 6 months again. I personally have been keeping my mask on indoors when surrounded by strangers, though I’ve been in the minority these last few weeks (I’m located in CT). I’m still diligent with the hand sanitizer and hand washing. I did partake in some indoor dining this past weekend in Boston only for the second time since COVID19 disrupted all our lives and I’m not keen on repeating that again anytime soon.

    I’m going to a wedding this weekend (under 100 people) and while I was initially looking forward to it, now I’m second guessing my decision to go. I already rsvped yes and it’s a bit too late to cancel (plus I have a friend flying from out of town who I promised to pick up on my way down to Virginia and if I bail, she won’t have a ride though I guess she could rent a car last minute if I were that cutthroat). The bride hasn’t issued any kind of COVID guidelines despite her wedding invitation stating there would be some on her website. I am getting tested before and after the wedding for peace of mind despite being vaccinated. I’m not under any delusion that just because I’m vaccinated, I can’t get COVID. Plus I have a vacation scheduled in a few weeks out west to visit some national parks and I need to know if I test positive so I can plan accordingly. The majority of us will be vaccinated but I can’t be assured that everyone at the wedding will be. I do believe the wedding ceremony will be outside but the reception won’t be and I highly doubt anyone will be wearing masks. I’m probably not going to either–I don’t want to the be sole person wearing one when everyone 100% won’t be. But I am definitely reevaluating a wedding reception (no ceremony, the couple already got married a few weeks ago) in VA in October now thanks to the Delta variant.

    • Anna says:

      Omg please think about whether this is the best decision. It can affect your vacation later and so many other people along the way if you are carrying the virus after that wedding. Safety and staying alive is first. Weddings come and go. That may feel harsh but seriously. Especially if the bride hasn’t even issued covid guidelines! That means she already knows there are people there who aren’t vaxxed and masking and she doesn’t want to enforce it because she is focused on her wedding day. Please stay safe.

  20. Ana says:

    The CDC Director is a major disaster. Very disappointed with Biden’s pick. Her messaging is all over the place. Anyone with common sense would know that dropping the mask back in May 😷 was a big mistake. I don’t have to have a Harvard degree to know this. The Delta variant in India back then was at its height. We keep blaming the unvaccinated but the mask was at least there to lessen the spread. Our numbers were way down. At this point, herd immunity is a pipe dream. This CDC Director, Rochelle Walensky should resign. This is on her.

  21. Lovely Rita says:

    My COVID story. I was lucky enough to get vaccinated in January. Unfortunately my husband did not receive his until April. We have continued to wear masks, social distance & wash our hands. I take an immunosuppressant for psoriasis. My doctor just tested my COVID antibody levels. They are dangerously low. I have to have another round of vaccine shots. I live in SE FL. It’s scary here with unvaccinated idiots. Will take myself of the immunosuppressant for the foreseeable future. If you have vaccinated family or friends with immunity issues, insist their doctors test their COVID antibody levels.

  22. Sassy in Utah says:

    In my state the legislature voted against any covid restrictions including masks and only 40% of the state is vaccinated. Cases are rising and the hospitals are 85% full. It is such a mess and I think that it will get alot worse before it gets better. I hate that nothing is being done. Our governor does not care and he seems happy with the way things are going.

  23. tealily says:

    I’m one of those people who had been saying “listen to the science.” I figured if I was saying that when the CDC was telling us to wear a mask, I should also do that when they said I didn’t need to anymore. I’m super pissed right now that I’ve put myself and my loved ones at risk as the Delta variant rips through the vaccinated folks in my community. Get your shots, wear your mask, and continue to pressure others to do the same.

  24. Sigmund says:

    Sigh. I’ll admit, I’m vaccinated and haven’t been wearing a mask since the CDC said vaccinated individuals didn’t need to. I figured that was the point of the vaccine, and if some people chose not to get vaccinated, they were gambling with their own health and lives. But if this is what the CDC is recommending, looks like I’m doing it. Ugh.

  25. Rose says:

    I’m vaccinated and have been for some time now but my mom and one of my good friends will not get the vaccine. My mom is a big fan of Trump and also an anti-vaxxer, Qanon conspiracy person. My friend is a very liberal person and a bit of a hippie whose husband is immunocompromised (he has been vaccinated) and it’s so weird to hear both of them using the same talking points for why they refuse the vaccine. Also interesting my mom is a retired health care worker (and clearly a Karen) and has been complaining about wearing a mask when she used to wear one at work every day for four decades. I just…. I can’t. And no argument will change either of their minds, feels helpless. If vaccines are mandated… I’m nervous about how antivaxers will react (bracing myself for the deluge of a-hole speech and temper tantrums from my mom in particular)

  26. Merricat says:

    The number of unnecessary deaths is unbelievable. The un-vaccinated have a lot to answer for, and I don’t care, at this point, what their “reasoning” might be.