With the Delta variant becoming more widespread around the world and in the U.S., many people are beginning to wonder if they should start wearing a mask again.
Dr. Liam Sullivan, an infectious disease doctor at Spectrum Health, says there’s still some things we don’t know about the Delta variant. But for those who have not been vaccinated, like children under the age of 12, it wouldn’t hurt to take safety measures.
“Depending on where you’re going with your kids and what you’re doing with your kids, you’d probably have to seriously consider wearing a mask. If you’re outdoors and doing a lot of outdoor activity and spread apart from people, that’s probably not a big deal," Dr. Sullivan said.
The World Health Organization and the CDC appear to be on different pages right now. W.H.O. advising people to wear a mask and the CDC has not changed its recommendations.
Dr. Sullivan says that’s not uncommon because W.H.O. is looking at the entire world where hot spots for the Delta variant continue to pop up, including parts of the U.S. where vaccination rates are low, in most cases less than 35% of the population.
And while the Delta variant and other strains of COVID-19 have mostly the same symptoms there are indicators that delta may present itself differently.
“There is some suggestion that Delta seems to cause more upper respiratory tract symptoms in some people. By that, I mean runny nose and nasal congestion, sneezing, maybe a sore throat. We’re seeing that a little bit more with this variant than we would with the other ones," Dr. Sullivan said.
Dr. Sullivan says while there are parts of Michigan that have low vaccination rates no delta hot spots have developed yet he advises people traveling outside the state and to one of these hot spots to wear a mask.
He says he knows everyone would like life to return to normal, but the only way we’re going to be done with this virus is if we get vaccinated.
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