New cases of the coronavirus are rising in every state across the nation by at least 10% over the past week. But there are glimmers of hope. Weekly vaccination rates are up 26% from just three weeks ago and 49.5% of the population is fully vaccinated, still far short of where the White House hope to be by now. And in the south, in places like Alabama and Arkansas states with poor vaccination progress now, seeing the average number of shots double in the last three weeks. But the south still has a long way to go. As bad as things are right now in the south are about to get worse if for for lots of unvaccinated individuals. New cases in Florida have jumped by more than 50% in the past week. In neighboring Georgia, the new case rate has tripled in the past two weeks. And in Louisiana where they had the most cases per capita last week, daily vaccination rates jumped 111% from three weeks ago. The delta variant is a game changer and at this point it's not whether we vaccinate or mask, we have to do both. An internal document from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the delta variant, which is fueling much of the rise across the country right now produces similar viral loads in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people who are infected vaccinated people may also spread the variant at the same rate as unvaccinated people. But it's critical to note that breakthrough infections among vaccinated people are rare. And as the CDC now pushes for vaccinated americans to wear masks indoors in many places across the country, President biden says more restrictions could be coming back to more lines. Okay, In all probability, and health experts agree unless many more americans get vaccinated things could get much worse. What we can say is this virus is doing exactly what we predicted it will do. And if we can't get extremely high rates of vaccination, and those rates now need to be higher than they were with the original strength because of the increased infectivity, we're going to see more and more variance, some of which will be worse.

NYC mayor stops short of mask mandate for vaccinated in nation's largest city

Updated: 11:33 AM EDT Aug 2, 2021

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio strongly encouraged vaccinated people to wear masks indoors but stopped short of reissuing a mask mandate on Monday, spurning guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."We want to strongly recommend that people wear masks in indoor settings even if you're vaccinated," de Blasio said. "If you don't know the people around, if you're not sure if they're vaccinated or not, or if you know some are unvaccinated, it's absolutely crucial to wear a mask even if you are vaccinated."Still, he did not require masks in all indoor settings, a step that Washington D.C., Los Angeles County and some other large metro areas have taken. Already, New York City requires vaccinated people to wear masks on public transit, in hospitals and in schools.Last week, the CDC issued new guidance that fully vaccinated people should wear masks indoors when in areas of "substantial" or "high" COVID-19 transmission, a metric based on case rates and positivity rates in a county. All five boroughs in NYC are in areas of "substantial" or "high" transmission.De Blasio's decision not to reissue a mask mandate reflects the waning influence of the CDC at this point in the pandemic, when protective vaccines are widely available for everyone 12 and older.The CDC's new mask guidance was based on an outbreak of the delta variant among mostly vaccinated people in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in which five people were hospitalized and no one died. The vaccines, though not 100% effective, provide substantial protection against severe illness and death.In recent weeks, the mayor has emphasized the importance of vaccinating as many people as possible and downplayed the use of masks, saying vaccines are "the whole ball game.""Masks can be helpful, we are going to delineate to New Yorkers the best way to use masks, but they don't change the basic reality. Vaccination does," he told CNN on Friday.About 55% of all NYC residents are fully vaccinated, according to city data, a number higher than the total U.S. rate of about 50%. The rate differs by borough, however: about two-thirds of Manhattan residents are fully vaccinated, while only 46% of Bronx residents can say the same.Mayor de Blasio said Monday the city still plans to focus its efforts on raising vaccination rates. "Everything we do is vaccine-centric," de Blasio said.The city has offered both carrots and sticks to encourage vaccinations. Any resident who gets a first dose of the vaccine at a city-run vaccination site will get $100. At the same time, all unvaccinated city employees will be required to start weekly testing on Sept. 13.The mayor also announced Monday that every new employee for the city of New York will be required to prove they are vaccinated before they can begin work.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio strongly encouraged vaccinated people to wear masks indoors but stopped short of reissuing a mask mandate on Monday, spurning guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We want to strongly recommend that people wear masks in indoor settings even if you're vaccinated," de Blasio said. "If you don't know the people around, if you're not sure if they're vaccinated or not, or if you know some are unvaccinated, it's absolutely crucial to wear a mask even if you are vaccinated."

Still, he did not require masks in all indoor settings, a step that Washington D.C., Los Angeles County and some other large metro areas have taken. Already, New York City requires vaccinated people to wear masks on public transit, in hospitals and in schools.

Last week, the CDC issued new guidance that fully vaccinated people should wear masks indoors when in areas of "substantial" or "high" COVID-19 transmission, a metric based on case rates and positivity rates in a county. All five boroughs in NYC are in areas of "substantial" or "high" transmission.

De Blasio's decision not to reissue a mask mandate reflects the waning influence of the CDC at this point in the pandemic, when protective vaccines are widely available for everyone 12 and older.

The CDC's new mask guidance was based on an outbreak of the delta variant among mostly vaccinated people in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in which five people were hospitalized and no one died. The vaccines, though not 100% effective, provide substantial protection against severe illness and death.

In recent weeks, the mayor has emphasized the importance of vaccinating as many people as possible and downplayed the use of masks, saying vaccines are "the whole ball game."

"Masks can be helpful, we are going to delineate to New Yorkers the best way to use masks, but they don't change the basic reality. Vaccination does," he told CNN on Friday.

About 55% of all NYC residents are fully vaccinated, according to city data, a number higher than the total U.S. rate of about 50%. The rate differs by borough, however: about two-thirds of Manhattan residents are fully vaccinated, while only 46% of Bronx residents can say the same.

Mayor de Blasio said Monday the city still plans to focus its efforts on raising vaccination rates. "Everything we do is vaccine-centric," de Blasio said.

The city has offered both carrots and sticks to encourage vaccinations. Any resident who gets a first dose of the vaccine at a city-run vaccination site will get $100. At the same time, all unvaccinated city employees will be required to start weekly testing on Sept. 13.

The mayor also announced Monday that every new employee for the city of New York will be required to prove they are vaccinated before they can begin work.

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