BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – Does the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's updated guidance on mask-wearing plant seeds of doubt about the efficacy of vaccines?
The CDC on Tuesday recommended that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the United States, where the delta variant of the coronavirus is fueling infection surges.
"It's the balance between trying to protect the public as best as possible and making sure that the correct message is being given," Dr.
Thomas Russo, Chief of Infectious Diseases and Jacobs School of Medicine, said. "I think it's important to emphasize that if you are fully vaccinated, you are largely protected from developing symptomatic infection."
Russo said the vaccines are still "very good" against the delta variant. However, those who are immunocompromised or elderly are still more susceptible to contracting a serious illness or death from the virus and Russo said those people should still continue to wear masks to protect their health.
In Erie County, the overwhelming majority of people who have died from COVID-19 since April are unvaccinated. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said of the 190 people in Erie County who died from coronavirus, only eight were vaccinated. He said those who died had underlying conditions.
"We know the vaccine is not 100% fool-proof because people are getting COVID-19," Poloncarz said Tuesday. "You can catch it. We've known that for some time in Erie County. We've had some breakthrough cases here and it's not a big surprise. We've had individuals who have died who were fully vaccinated and almost every single one of them had a health issue, an immunocompromised issue."
Poloncarz said the message is that we're not out of the pandemic yet.
"It's scary as heck if you look at some of these states where every county is in the red…" Poloncarz said in reference to a CDC map of the United States where transmission is greater than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents.
Erie County is currently in a moderate area of transmission, matching most of New York and other northeast states. In response to the CDC's updated guidance, Poloncarz announced all people, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask in county buildings. Previously, only county employees who proved their vaccine status could go maskless.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said New York is reviewing the new indoor mask guidance issued by the CDC.
"New Yorkers beat back COVID before – going from the highest positivity rate on the globe to one of the lowest – by staying smart, following the science, and having each other's backs, and that's exactly what we'll keep doing in this next phase of the pandemic," he said in a statement released Tuesday evening by his office. "We are reviewing the CDC's new recommendations closely in consultation with federal and state health experts."
The new mask policy follows recent decisions in Los Angeles and St. Louis to revert to indoor mask mandates amid a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations that have been especially bad in the South. The nation is averaging more than 57,000 cases a day and 24,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations.
"It's clear the honor system has been imperfect," Dr. Russo said. "This will be a way to go ahead and ensure that the unvaccinated will be wearing masks indoors to protect both themselves and other unvaccinated individuals. The delta variant is highly infectious and this is a means to tamp this down while we're trying to get more vaccines in arms."
Roughly 57% of Americans have received at least one dose of a vaccine, including two-thirds of those eligible for it. 69% of adults have received the vaccine, including nearly 90% of those who are 65 years of age or older.
"I'm not sure if changes in the masks rules will significantly impact the decision-process of individuals that are mulling over right now whether to get vaccinated," Russo said. "I certainly hope that the delta variant created a new appreciation of how dangerous this virus is and how infectious it is. If you are unvaccinated, this virus is going to find you. You're going to get infected with uncertain outcomes."
The FDA said it's working "as quick as possible" on full approval of the COVID-19 vaccines. Full approval could lead to mandates at places like schools and the military. Pfizer submitted for full approval on May 7 and Moderna on June 1. Full approval may come soon, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
