Communication around masks is still terrible

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced long-awaited guidelines in May for when vaccinated people could stop wearing masks, some experts cautioned that the changes were coming too soon. We were still learning more about the vaccine’s protection, and epidemiologists were worried about coronavirus variants. If mask rules were lifted and cases spiked again, reinstating them would be difficult.

Well, cases are now rising again across the country in a Delta variant-fueled surge, and that’s making mask recommendations just as difficult to handle as people feared. The surge is most devastating in places with low vaccination rates, but it’s also hitting states and counties where most adults are vaccinated. So not long...

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