Amid the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reportedly "staying the course" on its mask guidance — for now, at least.
On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that officials in the Biden administration are "debating whether they should urge vaccinated Americans to wear masks in more settings" due to a spike in cases caused by the Delta variant of COVID-19. But CBS News reported Thursday that, according to a source close to the discussions, there are "currently no plans to change the CDC guidance on masks ... We're staying the course." A federal health official also told CBS that the CDC isn't currently planning to update its mask guidance, saying, "unless there's some really compelling science that we don't know about yet that emerges, there's just simply no plan to change the guidance."
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On Thursday, though, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said that for vaccinated people, continuing to wear a mask to receive an "extra layer of protection" is an "individual choice." Walensky also noted, though, that "we are always looking at the data as the data come in."
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