The United States may return to recommending the use of masks for vaccination

Epidemiologist Anthony Fauci, one of the main US authorities in the fight against Covid-19, admitted on Sunday (25) that the country may recommend that those vaccinated against the disease wear a mask, given the increase in the number of cases. The expert admitted in an interview with the American television station “CNN” that “this matter is being actively considered,” referring primarily to closed environments.

The remarks by Fauci on Sunday come three days after the country’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there was no change in policy for the use of masks, including for those who have been vaccinated.

A potential change in US government guidelines does not mean a change in the entire territory, with the CDC only issuing recommendations, with each state and locality having the autonomy to decide how to act.

In mid-May, as vaccination progressed in the country, the agency changed guidelines and recommended that those fully vaccinated could already be without a mask most of the time, including indoors.

In late June, due to the prevalence of the delta variant, the World Health Organization (WHO) suggested that even those vaccinated should continue to use the protection component, given the high level of infection. However, the United States did not change its policy in the country.

This week, the CDC reported that Delta already accounts for at least 83% of Covid-19 cases in the United States. In the country, there was a 47% increase in the number of positives, while hospital admissions were up 32%.

In the United States, only 57% of the population over the age of 12 has taken all the doses needed to be fully immunized against the new coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We are moving in the wrong direction,” Fauci said, lamenting about the speed of vaccination. The expert described that half of the population is not immunized as a “problem” and reminded that the government is “practically appealing” to people to look for a vaccination point.