These are the Colorado counties where the CDC says vaccinated people should continue to wear masks indoors

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DENVER – Is it time to start wearing a mask again indoors, following the latest guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?

This mostly depends on where you live. Unfortunately for Coloradans, this guidance covers a large portion of the state, according to the CDC.

Reversing guidance issued a little more than two months ago, the federal agency announced Tuesday that it is now recommending that fully vaccinated people continue to wear masks indoors in parts of the country where there is “significant” or “high” transmission of the virus.

The CDC defines “significant transmission” as 50 or more new coronavirus infections per 100,000 people, and for Colorado this means not only Mesa County and other parts of the Western Slope, but some mountain communities and the Denver metro area as well.

Data from the CDC shows 40 out of 64 Colorado counties are within significant or high transmission levels, which translates to 58.82% of the state. This is roughly in line with the rest of the country, where 66.62% of all US counties show a significant or high degree of transmission, according to the CDC.

Areas shaded in orange represent high transmission while regions in red represent high transmission of the virus in the map below. Please note: The map below does not automatically update with new data from the CDC. To view the latest transmission levels, click here.

The latest announcement from the CDC is not a mandate, and indoor mask requirements are left to the discretion of local public health agencies. So far, no Colorado public health officials have said masks are required indoors and are instead urging the public to get vaccinated.

Here’s what Denver officials and Governor Jared Polis had to say about the latest CDC guidelines

While Denver had 58.3 cases per 100,000 people as of July 26, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Health and Environment told our partners The Denver Post Tuesday that there is no plan to order masks in Denver at this time.

“Given the recommendation is for high transmission areas, I don’t think anything will change today — given Denver’s numbers are still good,” Mayor spokesman Michael Hancock said in a statement.

On Monday, Hancock told Denver7 his hope was that Denver wouldn’t have to go back to the old restrictions but added that he couldn’t rule them out completely.

“We leave everything on the table,” Hancock said. “The truth is we have to keep our toolbox stocked with options to protect people and that’s what we did last year and that’s what we have to do going forward.”

When asked three times for his opinion of the CDC’s new guidelines and the possibility of a mask mandate on Tuesday, Governor Jared Polis shrugged off the questions, instead urging people to get vaccinated.

“Just remember, a mask is not as effective as a vaccine. The vaccine is widely available and is 95% effective.”

Later in the day, the governor’s spokesperson sent out a short statement, repeating what Polis told Denver7 earlier.

“We are reviewing this new guidance from the CDC. Vaccination is the best protection against COVID-19. Colorado has made the vaccine readily available, and it’s free. We encourage all eligible Coloradans to get vaccinated without delay. “

However, health experts from the World Health Organization said in late June that vaccination alone was not enough to combat the spread of the delta variable and that other safety measures must remain in place to prevent cases from rising and the virus from mutating. , perhaps in a way that could avoid vaccine protection.

People do not feel safe just because they have taken both doses. “They still need to protect themselves,” WHO Assistant Director-General Dr Mariangela Simao said during a briefing from Geneva on June 25. “A vaccine alone will not stop community transmission. People need to continue to use masks consistently, be in well-ventilated spaces, hand hygiene…physical distance, and avoid crowding. This is still very important, even if you are vaccinated when you have community transmission.” continuous. “

What about schools? Will they require children to wear masks when lessons resume?

The CDC has also recommended that everyone in K-12 schools wear masks, regardless of their vaccination status. Includes students, staff, and visitors.

“Children should return to full-time in-person learning in the fall with appropriate prevention strategies in place,” Rochelle Wallinsky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during Tuesday’s announcement.

Denver 7 reached out to several school districts around the metro area, but only two responded to our requests for comment on Tuesday.

“We continue to work with our health partners to determine the safety protocols that will be required for the 2021-22 school year,” said Will Jones, a spokesperson for Denver Public Schools. And while we expect to return to more normal operations, it is possible that some requirements (such as the use of masks) will continue into the beginning of the school year.”

Alex Marrero, who recently became the supervisor of DPS, told Denver 7 on Monday that he expects to decide what rules must be followed for wearing masks in about a week.

School officials at Jeffco Public Schools Denver 7 told Tuesday that they are still “absorbing” what the latest guidance from the CDC means “along with everyone else.”

“We were anticipating that the situation was evolving and entered into a dialogue with Jifco Public Health, as well as other metro areas, our employee associations, and the community,” said Tami H. Schiff, chief communications officer for Jifco Public Schools. “We expect to make our decisions and inform our community by the end of the week. We will be watching the press conference for more information to consider in the mix.”

Why the change in routing?

The latest guidance from the CDC is in response to new data showing that the delta variant is able to spread rapidly not only among the unvaccinated, but among fully vaccinated people who have the potential to spread the virus to others as well, the World Health Organization has warned more Two weeks ago.

Walinsky said during a press conference Tuesday that recent studies have shown that vaccinated people infected with the more virulent Delta variant showed “indistinguishable” amounts of viral loads from those in the noses and throats of unvaccinated people.

The data comes from more than 100 samples from several states and other countries, according to the Associated Press, and although it has not been published or released, Walinsky said it is “worrying enough that we feel we have to act.”

While vaccines are still highly effective in preventing severe illness and death, a recent study from the Israeli Ministry of Health found that the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine in preventing transmission of the highly infectious delta variant has fallen to 39% but still a 91% efficacy in preventing serious illness.

Data regarding the efficacy of the Moderna, Johnson, and Johnson vaccine is not widely available because it has not been used in countries that were severely affected by the delta variant before the United States.

Pfizer announced Wednesday that a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine could “powerfully” enhance protection against the delta variant in a copy of its second-quarter results, but the information in the quarterly results has not yet been peer-reviewed. or published.

Pfizer says federal regulators will determine if a booster dose is needed and which residents will recommend a third dose.

As of Wednesday, 71.63% of Colorado adults had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 69.43% of Colorado residents ages 12 to 15 had received a first dose, and 66.08% of all Colorado adults had been fully vaccinated . The latest numbers are from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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