últimas notícias

The World Health Organization recently repeated its recommendation that even vaccinated people should continue to wear masks, in part due to the global spread of Delta.

The C.D.C. has stood by its mask guidance, however, with Dr. Walensky noting the W.H.O.’s global purview and the fact that wealthy nations have snapped up so many of the available shots. She has added that local officials in the United States can opt for more stringent measures to protect the unvaccinated. On Thursday, Los Angeles County said it was reinstating an indoor mask mandate for everyone beginning this weekend, regardless of vaccination status. On Friday, Dr. Walensky pointed out the heterogenous nature of the country and said “these decisions have to be made at the local level.”

“If you have areas of low vaccination and high case rates, then I would say local policymakers might consider whether masking at that point would be something that would be helpful for their community,” she added.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday there were currently no plans to reintroduce an indoor mask mandate for everyone citywide, nor did he think the move was needed. The city has reported a recent streak of more than 400 cases per day, up from about 200 per day on average just a few weeks ago. “We need to watch it like a hawk,” he said on a radio show, referring to the Delta variant.

Health officials are focused on hospitalizations, he said, which have remained low in recent weeks. About 53 percent of city residents are fully vaccinated, according to city data. Should hospitalization rates rise, he said, the city will adapt.

“We don’t have a plan to change course at this point,” he said, adding that “if we see something that we need to change, we will say it immediately and will call people to arms.”

After narrowly missing a self-imposed goal of having 70 percent of adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4, the Biden administration is making a renewed push to try to reach those who have still not gotten their shots. Officials have also recently announced the creation of “surge response teams” to help hard-hit states manage Delta-driven outbreaks. Missouri and Nevada have already requested assistance.