The CDC will recommend that some vaccinated people wear masks indoors again

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Reversing a decision made just two months ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected on Tuesday to recommend that people vaccinated against the coronavirus resume wearing masks indoors in certain areas of the country.

This change follows reports of increased infections of the delta variant of the virus in fully vaccinated people, and an increase in cases in areas with low vaccination rates. Vaccines remain effective against the worst outcomes of virus infection, including those involving the delta variant.

But the new guidance, details of which are expected to emerge later Tuesday, would mark a sharp shift in the agency’s position since May that vaccinated people do not need to wear masks in most indoor settings.

More recently, last week, a spokesperson for the agency said that the CDC had no plans to change its guidance, unless there was a significant change in the science. CNN reported Tuesday that federal officials met Sunday night to review new evidence that may have prompted the retraction.

“I think that’s great,” said Dr. Celine Gunder, an infectious disease specialist at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York. Based on what scientists are learning about the delta variant’s ability to cause paranormal injury, she said, “This is a step in the right direction.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s initial guidance in May said that people who are fully protected from the coronavirus can go home without masks in most scenarios, but it recommended that unvaccinated people still wear masks. Those recommendations drew sharp criticism from some experts, who said they were premature given the huge numbers of unvaccinated people in the country.

Dr. Rochelle Wallinsky, director of the CDC at the time, cited two scientific findings as important factors. She noted that few people who have been vaccinated contract the virus, and transmission appears to be even rarer; Vaccines appear to be effective against all known variants of the coronavirus.

A day after the announcement, the agency released the results of a large study showing that mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were 94% effective in preventing symptoms in those who got two doses, and 82% effective in those who got two doses. One dose.

But that data, and the CDC’s decision, were based on infections of previous versions of the virus before the delta variant began sweeping the country. Reports of clusters of infections among fully vaccinated people have suggested that the variant may be able to break through the vaccine barrier more than previous iterations of the virus.

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