Are COVID-19 vaccines effective against the Delta variant?
For nearly two months, fully vaccinated people in the U.S. have been able to go back to living life much like they had been before the pandemic. With vaccination rates climbing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in mid-May that fully vaccinated individuals no longer needed masks indoors or outdoors, leading state officials to lift not only mask mandates, but to return to business as usual by removing social distancing or capacity restrictions, too. It seemed we were on the path towards normal this summer, but a new variant of the coronavirus is starting to sound alarms again. The Delta variant has already forced other countries like India and Australia, back into lockdown and reinstated restrictions. And now, it's quickly spreading in the U.S., and in certain states in particular.