The Delta variant, which is extremely infectious and causes even more severe diseases, has been spreading so rapidly in some areas that officials have brought back their mask guidance even if people are fully vaccinated.
Health officials in Los Angeles County, suggested last week that people in the county should continue wearing masks while in public indoor spaces, regardless of their vaccination status.
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Barbara Ferrer, head of Los Angeles County’s Public Health Department, told CNN Saturday the county’s new mask guidance is an extra precaution against the rise of COVID-19 cases there.
“There are lots of settings where even though we know that the vaccines provide powerful protection to those who are vaccinated, the slight risk that a vaccinated person could shed enough virus to infect somebody else, coupled with just creating less and less risk in those settings where there are many unvaccinated people, makes it a prudent tool that I think has its place in this full reopening that we’ve done in L.A. County,” Ferrer said.
According to Professor Adam Finn, from the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), face coverings are extremely valuable under certain circumstances and he does not plan to ditch them.
He told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips On Sunday programme:
Well on a personal level I shall certainly be continuing to wear a mask if I’ve got any symptoms or if I’m in an enclosed space with lots of other people for a prolonged period of time, indefinitely in fact.
Prof Finn explained:
I think we learned, as paediatricians, we learned that we can avoid massive problems with children getting sick in the winter by doing these kind of measures.
We simply didn’t see the epidemics of respiratory viruses last winter that we’ve seen every year throughout my career.
Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, added he believed people would naturally be more cautious and may continue to wear face masks out of choice.
He told Andrew Marr on BBC One:
I think some people will choose to be more cautious. Some people may choose to wear face masks in particular circumstances, such as crowded environments, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Those habits to reduce infections are a good thing to keep.
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