CDC May Roll Back Mask Guidance For Vaccinated Americans, Fauci Says

There is 'no doubt' the US has been undercounting its Covid death toll, top US pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci told NBC's Meet The Press AFP / SAUL LOEB

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may roll back its guidance on non-mask wearing for vaccinated people as the Delta variant causes COVID cases to surge across the U.S.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, made the announcement on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, saying the mask guidelines are “under active consideration.”

According to USA Today, COVID-19 cases are up 171% nationally, and the death rate has increased 19% from the week prior due to the Delta variant. The CDC said last week that the highly contagious Delta variant comprised 83% of all new COVID cases.

Back in mid-May, the CDC announced that vaccinated Americans no longer needed to wear face masks indoors. Now with the significant increase in COVID cases, the agency is rethinking its recommendation because of the number of people who have not gotten vaccinated yet, according to Fauci.

Fauci told “State of the Union” the Delta variant in the U.S. is “overwhelmingly targeting unvaccinated Americans.”

“This is an issue predominantly among the unvaccinated, which is the reason why we’re out there, practically pleading with the unvaccinated people to go out and get vaccinated,” Fauci added.

According to CDC data, nearly 163 million Americans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, representing 49% of the U.S. population.

Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams agreed with Fauci, telling CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that “more mitigation is coming.”

“Whether it's masking, or whether it's closures or whether it's your kids having to return to virtual learning, that is coming. And it's coming because this pandemic is spiraling out of control yet again. And it's spiraling out of control because we don't have enough people vaccinated,” he added.

But mask requirements are already taking effect in some parts of the country. Los Angeles County requires everyone to wear a mask indoors, and St. Louis also mandates that everyone 5 and older wear a face mask indoors.