Fully vaccinated Bay State residents are being urged to wear masks indoors if you fall under certain at-risk categories, health officials announced today.
It all hits at the delta variant — said to spread as easily as chickenpox — is raising new concerns.
The state Department of Public Health stated Friday: “In response to the recent spread of the Delta variant, however, the CDC’s updated guidance does recommend that even fully vaccinated persons wear masks or face coverings when indoors if other risk factors are present.”
The DPH adds that “fully vaccinated (should) wear a mask or face covering when indoors — and not in your own home — if you have a weakened immune system, or if you are at increased risk for severe disease because of your age or an underlying medical condition, or if someone in your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease, or is unvaccinated.”
The Washington Post, citing an internal federal health document, is reporting the delta variant that was first spotted in India “spreads as easily as chickenpox.”
The CDC slide, the Post adds, “strikes an urgent note, revealing the agency knows it must revamp its public messaging.”
That now appears to be driving the local reexamination of masking.
All people in Massachusetts, the DPH states regardless of vaccination status, are required to continue wearing face coverings in certain settings, including transportation and health care facilities. Please see www.mass.gov/maskrules for a complete list of venues where face coverings remain mandatory as of May 29, 2021.