Coronavirus | Featured Stories

By Beth Stibal |

CDC recommends masks, mandatory vaccines for Federal workers?

Virus Outbreak California Vaccine
A health worker loads syringes with the vaccine on the first day of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine being made available to residents at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles Thursday, March 11, 2021. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is highlighting the new the one-dose Janssen COVID-19 vaccine by Johnson & Johnson. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

The CDC is recommending that those who are vaccinated wear masks indoors in areas where there are high levels of infection. On a media call, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said this will help prevent the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant. She said that strain is behaving differently than other identified variants and is working to “outsmart” us.

For now, Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner says there is no mask mandate even for the unvaccinated. Wearing a mask is still a personal choice in Palm Beach County except on the island of Palm Beach where you must wear a mask indoors in town buildings. And the Palm Beach County school board has not reinstated a mask mandates for students who are set to begin school next month.

However, starting today, vaccines are mandatory for Veterans Affairs healthcare workers, the first federal agency to requiring workers to get the vaccine.

President Biden will reportedly impose a vaccination mandate on federal workers today after revealing Tuesday the mandate was “under consideration.”
It will reportedly not include military members for the time being. The mandate will likely come along with new incentives to boost vaccinations nationwide.