The CDC may soon recommend you wear a mask indoors again.
Sarah Tew/CNET

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Tuesday that fully vaccinated Americans should go back to wearing masks indoors if they live in an area with “substantial or high” transmission of COVID-19, citing the danger of the now-dominant delta variant.

CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky made the announcement at a press briefing. She said that after reviewing new scientific evidence on how the delta variant “behaves differently” from variants of the past, data shows that symptomatic breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people, though still rare, might be just as likely to be contagious than infections in unvaccinated people.

“This new science is worrisome, and unfortunately warrants an update,” Walensky said.

The CDC also announced a recommendation that all students, teachers and visitors at K-12 schools wear masks while indoors, regardless of vaccination status. In-person learning will still be a priority, as laid out by the CDC earlier this month.

The CDC’s shift comes after a rise in reports of some breakthrough infections of the highly contagious delta variant. The CDC’s most recent advice contradicted that of the World Health Organization, which said everyone should continue to wear face masks in crowded areas.

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