The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) July 27 recommended that everyone, even those who are fully vaccinated, wear a mask indoors in public in areas with high COVID-19 transmission.
CDC in a Health Alert Network notice said COVID-19 cases increased more than 300 percent nationally from June 19 to July 23. Hospitalizations and deaths due to the highly transmissible delta variant also are on the rise.
A July 30 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report highlights the transmissibility of the delta variant in vaccinated individuals. The report studies transmission in a Barnstable County, Mass., town after several large, public events held July 3–17. Of 469 COVID-19 cases, 74 percent occurred in fully vaccinated people. Ninety percent of 133 specimens tested identified the delta variant.
President Biden Announces Vaccination Initiatives
President Joe Biden on July 29 announced all federal government employees must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or submit to weekly or semiweekly testing, physical distancing requirements, and travel restrictions.
Biden also directed the Department of Defense to explore adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of vaccines required for military members. Biden also suggested reimbursing small and medium-size businesses for offering employees paid time off to receive the vaccine, encouraging states to offer $100 vaccination incentives, and calling on school districts to offer at least one pop-up vaccination clinic at a school or college in the coming weeks.
Visit the America’s Essential Hospitals coronavirus resource page for more information about the pandemic.
Contact Senior Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
