Linn County Public Health (LCPH) is adopting updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) face-covering recommendations to protect against COVID-19 and the Delta variant. The CDC recommends that everyone, including fully vaccinated individuals, wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas with substantial and high transmission. The CDC is also recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.
Areas of substantial transmission are considered by the CDC to be those with 50 to 99 cases per 100,000 people over a 7-day period. Areas of high transmission are considered to be those with more than 100 cases per 100,000 people over a 7-day period.
Linn County is currently in the “area of high transmission” as defined by the CDC.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing rapid spread of virus among unvaccinated folks,” said Linn County Public Health Director, Pramod Dwivedi. “We are seeing high transmission in Linn County, overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated. Risk remains greater for everyone if we do not reduce the current spread of virus, and vaccinations and face-coverings are the way to stop the spread of this disease. We whole-heartedly join the CDC in recommending that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear a face covering indoors in Linn County. We are offering the same advice to our K-12 schools.”
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine remains the best way to protect yourself and others from being infected with the coronavirus. Based on the data, all three COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized in the U.S. are effective, including effectiveness against the Delta variant.
According to the CDC, data show that the Delta variant is much more contagious than the original strain of the virus. Delta spreads more than twice as easily from one person to another compared to other strains. According to the CDC, the Delta variant is causing some vaccine breakthrough infections, but even so, most breakthrough infections are mild and the vaccines are preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
The community level of transmission can be found on the CDC’s website here: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view.