Will masking guidelines change as cases of the delta variant continue to rise globally as well as in Illinois and Chicago?
On Monday, the Los Angeles County Health Department said it "strongly recommends everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places as a precautionary measure" due to the spread of the delta variant.
The World Health Organization on Friday urged fully vaccinated people to continue to wear masks, social distance and practice other COVID-19 pandemic safety measures as the delta variant spreads rapidly, CNBC reported.
"People cannot feel safe just because they had the two doses. They still need to protect themselves," Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHO assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, said during a news briefing from the agency's Geneva headquarters.
"Vaccine alone won't stop community transmission," Simao added. "People need to continue to use masks consistently, be in ventilated spaces, hand hygiene ... the physical distance, avoid crowding. This still continues to be extremely important, even if you're vaccinated when you have a community transmission ongoing."
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady noted during a Facebook Live Tuesday, however, that Chicago and Illinois are continuing to follow CDC guidance.
"The WHO is making that recommendation for the whole world. The CDC, on the other hand, has made the recommendation that people who are fully vaccinated do not need to mask, whereas people who are unvaccinated should continue to mask. Of course we see in truth, there are certainly some people here in Chicago who are unvaccinated who have probably dropped their masks, even indoors. And so, right now, while our outbreak remains in very good control locally, even with the delta here, there is not a reason to adjust that guidance, and we would be sticking with the CDC guidance that says if you're fully vaccinated you don't need to be wearing a mask indoors. But... if you're fully vaccinated and you have concerns right- you have an immune system problem, you have kids who aren't vaccinated, you are worried about people in your social network who may not be vaccinated, or you just want to be extra careful - certainly individuals are continuing in some cases to continue wearing that mask and I welcome people to do that."
She noted that the new masking guidance in Los Angeles County can't be ruled out for the Chicago area in the future, however.
"I don't want to rule out, you know, that this could be something that could be a recommendation again in the future," she said. "We're keeping a really close eye on our local data here, on our genomic surveillance, and if there is a need to make a change to that recommendation it's something we would do. But right now, I think we are feeling good about where we are."
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The delta variant is expected to become the dominant strain for Illinois cases by the fall, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday.
So far, the Illinois Department of Public Health has identified 84 cases of the variant in the state as of data reported Sunday. That's compared to 6,505 cases of the variant first reported out of the U.K. known as the alpha variant, which is likely the most prolific-strain in the state of Illinois.
Pritzker, who wore a mask to a recent public event, said he was doing so out of an "abundance of caution" as concerns surrounding the delta variant rise.
He encouraged residents to continue to "use your mask accordingly."
"I would say from my own perspective if you're going into a heavily crowded area, you don't know if somebody is not vaccinated and so you should just bring your mask with you and keep safe," he said.
The delta variant is one that was first detected in India in December. Scientists believe the variant may be the most aggressive and contagious strain of the COVID-19 virus seen so far.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, has shown increased transmissibility and could result in reduced protection from current COVID vaccines.
The version of the coronavirus has been found in more than 80 countries since it was first detected in India, according to the Associated Press.
"This newer Delta variant played a big role in the huge surge of cases that we saw in India," Arwady said.
"It took a little bit of time for it to take hold, but then the big surge," she continued. "And I know a lot of you saw just you know hospitals running out of oxygen, a lot of deaths was largely driven by this delta variant, and then we have seen this delta variant in more than 90 countries around the world. It is definitely here in Chicago. It is in, I believe, every US state at this point."
Arwady said the delta variant is more contagious than the alpha variant, also known as the B 1.1.7 or UK variant, which is now the dominant strain in Chicago.
"The alpha variant - the one that originally emerged from the UK - was about 50% more infectious or more contagious than the original, and then the Delta looks like it's probably maybe 50% contagious, more contagious, again, even than alpha."
According to Arwady, that means "you don't need as much exposure to the virus to get sick from it."
Still, studies have shown that the available vaccines work against variants, including the delta variant.
Arwady reported Tuesday that a recent study showed the Pfizer vaccine was 84% effective against the variant after two doses, but only 34% effective after the first dose.
Moderna also announced Tuesday that a new study showed its vaccine also produced promising protection in a lab setting against the delta variant and others currently circulating. The data hasn't yet been peer-reviewed.
Arwady said any of the three vaccines currently being used in the U.S. continue to show good results as far as protection.
"The biggest thing still is that the vaccine remains really very well protected against it," Arwady said Tuesday. "So across all types of variants here in Chicago, since a vaccine was fully available, 98% of our deaths 97% of our hospitalizations have been in people who were not fully vaccinated and that has been holding, even for the delta variant. So, broadly, we definitely have some concern about the delta variant, because if there are unvaccinated social networks or neighborhoods in Chicago, even a single case is more likely to spread and more likely to cause more people to get COVID and so, the most important thing of course is to get vaccinated."
Dr. Temitope Oyedele, infectious disease physician at Cook County Health, says that the only way to combat the delta variant is to vaccinate more residents, giving the virus fewer avenues of transmission.
To that end, officials are moving away from mass vaccination sites, with sites like the United Center set to close, and more towards hyper-local, door-to-door type vaccination events to get shots into more arms.
"The lessons here at home and across the world are a harbinger of what could happen here, particularly in low vaccinated areas, if we don't see a higher uptake of the vaccine across Illinois," Pritzker said. "This is very real. I implore all residents, if you have friends and family on the fence, share with them the life-saving benefits of these free vaccines and encourage them to remain masked until they are fully vaccinated."
