Amid a surge of COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Dr. Rochelle Walensky urged Americans who are not vaccinated to avoid traveling for the Labor Day holiday weekend.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. is seeing an average of about 160,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, and hospitalizations have reached a daily average of 100,000 for the first time since last winter, per the New York Times.
When asked by a reporter at a briefing Tuesday if Americans should reconsider holiday weekend travel due to rising COVID-19 cases, Dr. Walensky said that “first and foremost, if you are unvaccinated, we would recommend not traveling.”
Dr. Walensky noted that the CDC “carefully” watches travel health notices – which she said “look at testing capacity as well as case rates” – on a daily basis, and updates their travel guidance “in real time” for different countries.
“We have actually articulated that people who are fully vaccinated and who are wearing masks can travel,” she said. “Although given where we are with disease transmission right now, we would say that people need to take … these risks into their own consideration as they think about traveling.”
Earlier in the briefing, Jeff Zients, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, said that Americans get ready for Labor Day Weekend, they should make sure being vaccinated against the coronavirus “is part of their pre-holiday checklist.”
“Getting vaccinated is free,” Zients said. “It’s easy and convenient, it’s safe and effective, and it’s never, ever been more important.”
Dr. Walensky recommended three key ways for Americans to keep themselves and their families safe over the holiday weekend:
- Keep in mind that gathering outdoors will help to prevent COVID-19 transmission: “Throughout the pandemic, we have seen that the vast majority of transmission takes place among unvaccinated people in closed, indoor settings,” she said.
- Wear a mask in public indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status: “Given the high transmissibility of the Delta variant and the significant community transmission in this country, wearing a mask is the easiest way for anyone, regardless of your vaccination status, to slow the spread of disease.”
- Talk with unvaccinated friends about the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine and consider bringing them to be vaccinated
“Just yesterday, CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices reviewed the recent FDA decision to approve the Pfizer COVID vaccine, and we have updated our recommendations,” Dr. Walensky said. “I’m delighted to say that we now have a fully FDA-approved, CDC-recommended vaccine available.”
“For anyone who’s been waiting to get vaccinated until we had more evidence on safety and effectiveness, I hope yesterday’s announcement will have you join the more than 170 million people who have decided to protect themselves against COVID-19 by getting vaccinated yourself,” she added.
As of Tuesday, Aug. 31, more than 205,000 million Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, more than 61.8% of the total U.S. population, and more than 174 million people, over 52% of the total population, has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.
On Wednesday, the U.S. reported more than 1 million doses administered over the previous day’s total, including 502,000 newly vaccinated, according to the White House.
“Highest daily total on a Wednesday since June 30,” Cyrus Shahpar, White House COVID-19 Data Director, wrote on Twitter. Lets make September a big month for vaccinations so we can have a better holiday season.”
