CDC Says All New Yorkers Should Wear Masks Regardless of Vaccine Status

All 64 counties in New York have reached "substantial" or "high" transmission rates for coronavirus according to the CDC, which means it's recommended for everyone to mask up.

Areas seeing at least 50 new cases per 100,000 people (or an 8-9.9% positivity rate) in the past 7 days are considered “substantial” spread, and areas seeing at least 100 cases per 100,000 people (or at least a 10% positivity rate) in the past 7 days are considered “high” spread.

The map shows that more than 92% of counties across the U.S. are seeing “high”  spread, and that is mostly due to the Delta variant causing the majority of cases across the nation and state-wide.

The CDC says most of these cases come from unvaccinated individuals, of which are likely to have more severe symptoms that could result in hospitalization, or even death.

Back in May, prior to the variant's debut, fully vaccinated individuals were permitted by the CDC to stop wearing masks in certain situations. But now, with the risk of the Delta variant and how it's more contagious than what we've seen previously - that has changed.

The recommendation from the CDC for unvaccinated people remains the same nationwide: Continue wearing a mask in public until you get the vaccine. And masks are still recommended for all people in crowded indoor settings, such as buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters.

Oneida County, Madison County, Otsego County, Herkimer County and Onondoga County all have reached "high" transmission status. Despite local governments voicing suggestions regarding mask wearing, nothing has yet to be mandated.

As transmission rates are skyrocketing across the country, the Food and Drug Administration announced their full approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This comes more than eight months after being granted for emergency use.

The FDA confirmed late last year through a more "streamlined evaluation process" that the vaccine, from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its partner German startup BioNTech, was safe, effective and could be reliably produced.

Vaccines.gov helps you find clinics, pharmacies, and other locations that offer COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. If you have any questions about the vaccine, you can find some answers below or by visiting the CDC website.