Category: Breaking News

To prevent further spread of the Delta variant, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask guidance on Tuesday to recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors when in areas with “substantial” and “high” transmission of Covid-19, which includes nearly two-thirds of all US counties. “In recent days I have seen new scientific data from recent outbreak investigations showing that the Delta variant behaves uniquely differently from past strains of the virus that cause Covid-19,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told a media briefing on Tuesday. “This new science is worrisome and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendations,” she said. “This is not a decision that we or CDC has made lightly.”

New unpublished data showing that vaccinated people infected with the Delta coronavirus variant can have as much virus as those who are unvaccinated is the primary driver for the CDC’s latest mask guidance change, a source involved with the decision process told CNN. Overall, vaccinated people still play a small role in transmission and breakthrough infections are rare.

In addition, the source noted two other factors that led to this decision: the prevalence of the Delta variant and low vaccine uptake. When the CDC previously revised its guidance on May 13 for vaccinated people to unmask, Delta only represented 1% of reported infections. Now, according to the CDC, it represents at least 83% of cases. The source also noted that the country’s overall level of vaccination is lower than what was initially expected and that most transmission is happening in areas with vaccination levels below 40% of the population. “When you get information about risks and how to mitigate risks, there’s a public health obligation to let people know about it,” a senior administration official said. The White House is hoping that the new guidance will give local officials “a lot of cover” to implement new mask mandates where appropriate. Meanwhile, the guidance for unvaccinated people remains the same: continue masking until they are fully vaccinated. Nearly half — 46% — of US counties currently have high transmission and 17% have “substantial” transmission, according to data from the CDC, as of Tuesday morning. In two states, Arkansas and Louisiana, every county is currently listed as having “high” levels of community transmission of Covid-19, according to CDC data. Several other states — including Missouri, Mississippi and Alabama — also have “high” transmission in nearly every county. In Florida, every county was listed with high transmission on Monday; as of Tuesday morning, one — Glades County — has substantial transmission. “Vaccinated individuals continue to represent a very small amount of transmission occurring around the country. We continue to estimate that the risk of a breakthrough infection with symptom upon exposure to the Delta variant is reduced by seven-fold. The reduction of 20-fold for hospitalizations, and deaths,” Walensky said during Tuesday’s briefing. “As CDC has recommended for months, unvaccinated individuals should get vaccinated and continue masking until they are fully vaccinated,” she said. “In areas with substantial and high transmission, CDC recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in public, indoor settings, to help prevent the spread of the Delta variant and protect others — this includes schools.” The CDC’s latest guidance also recommends for community leaders to encourage vaccination and mask-wearing to prevent further outbreaks in areas of substantial and high transmission. The agency recommends that local jurisdictions encourage universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.

Earlier this month, the CDC’s Covid-19 school guidance noted that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks, and then about a week later the American Academy of Pediatrics issued stricter guidance recommending that everyone older than 2 wear a mask in schools, regardless of vaccination their status.

Now the updated CDC guidance recommends everyone in schools wear masks. “CDC recommends that everyone in K through 12 schools wear a mask indoors, including teachers, staff, students and visitors, regardless of vaccination status. Children should return to full-time, in-person learning in the fall with proper prevention strategies in place,” Walensky said. “Finally, CDC recommends community leaders encourage vaccination and universal masking to prevent further outbreaks in areas of substantial and high transmission. With the Delta variant, vaccinating more Americans now is more urgent than ever.” The updated CDC guidance makes “excellent sense,” Dr. David Weber, professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill and board member of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology, told CNN on Tuesday. “Breakthrough disease clearly occurs, and for those cases, we know they’re much more mild in vaccinated people, but we don’t know how infectious vaccinated people are,” he said. “But clearly, if you want to protect your children under 12 or grandchildren, or protect immunocompromised people, as well as protect your own health — from even mild disease — then you should be wearing a mask, particularly in areas of high transmission when indoors.”

The UK has recorded the highest number of deaths since March despite a drop in Covid-19 cases. A further 131 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday – the highest day-on-day rise since March 17 bringing the UK total to 129,303. There had been a further 23,511 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK as of 9am on Tuesday, the Government said, meaning daily reported cases have fallen for a seventh day in a row. Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have been 154,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. Responding to the 131 deaths, Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England, said: “Rates are still high and the pandemic is not over yet, today we have recorded the highest number of deaths since March.

“This is in part due to the high number of cases recorded in recent weeks. We know deaths follow when there are a high number of cases and data today highlights we are still in the third wave.

The following number of countries in Europe are planning to make it illegal to enter bars and restaurants without proof of a COVID-19 vaccination. A rise in cases in countries including France, Italy and the Netherlands means ‘green passes’ will be required to enter all indoor hospitality venues. Each country has a slightly different plan for how the passes will work. So make sure you are informed of the rules before traveling to any of these countries. This will take the form of either paper documentation or an app that proves visitors to indoor dining and entertainment venues have been fully vaccinated and are allowed to enter, restriction-free. It is not expected to affect each country’s rules on outdoor hospitality and gatherings. These measures are being taken to ensure visitors to bars, restaurants, museums, indoor sports venues, and other cultural/entertainment sites are kept safe from infection and not limited to restrictions like mask-wearing or social distancing. Some nations are still in the process of legally verifying how the passes will work. Others have had this in place with their own apps since COVID-19 related travel restrictions started lifting across Europe earlier this year.

Roger Seheult, MD of MedCram explains how “natural immunity” (from a previous COVID-19 infection) compares with vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca) VS. the Delta coronavirus variant. (This video was recorded on July 24, 2021). Roger Seheult, MD is the co-founder and lead professor at https://www.medcram.com He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine and an Associate Professor at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine.

The French parliament approved a bill early Monday that will require a health pass for access to restaurants, bars, trains and planes from the beginning of August. All venues accommodating more than 50 people already require proof of vaccination or a recent negative Covid-19 test, including museums, cinemas and swimming pools. France’s parliament approved a law early Monday requiring special virus passes for all restaurants and domestic travel and mandating vaccinations for all health workers. Both measures have prompted protests and political tensions. President Emmanuel Macron and his government say they are needed to protect vulnerable populations and hospitals as infections rebound and to avoid new lockdowns. The law requires all workers in the health care sector to start getting vaccinated by Sept. 15, or risk suspension. It also requires a “health pass” to enter all restaurants, trains, planes and some other public venues. It initially applies to all adults, but will apply to everyone 12 and older starting Sept. 30. To get the pass, people must have proof they are fully vaccinated, recently tested negative or recently recovered from the virus. Paper or digital documents will be accepted. The law says a government decree will outline how to handle vaccination documents from other countries. The bill was unveiled just six days ago. Lawmakers worked through the night and the weekend to reach a compromise version approved by the Senate on Sunday night and by the National Assembly after midnight. The rules can be applied through Nov. 15, depending on the virus situation. Macron appealed for national unity and mass vaccination to fight the resurgent virus, and lashed out at those fueling anti-vaccine sentiment and protests.About 160,000 people protested around France on Saturday against a special COVID-19 pass for restaurants and mandatory vaccinations for health workers. Many marchers shouted “liberty!” and said the government shouldn’t tell them what to do.