Mask or No Mask? Why We Don’t Have a Consistent Message on COVID-19

• The general public is receiving conflicting messages from a variety of sources about the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Experts say part of the reason is that the research and knowledge surrounding the novel coronavirus is changing as scientists learn more about the disease.
• They add that some state officials and media outlets are putting out different information than the advisories issued by scientific experts.

The nation’s largest county is taking a step back, asking residents to wear a mask again while indoors, whether they’re vaccinated or not.

The move comes as the COVID-19 delta variant surges in Los Angeles and around the country among the unvaccinated.

However, the same day Los Angeles County officials announced its return to a mask mandate, Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told “NBC Nightly News” that her agency stands by its guidance that fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear a mask in most situations.

Earlier this month, the CDC advised that unvaccinated students wear masks as they head back to in-person learning this fall.

At the same time, officials in Arizona, Texas, Utah, and Iowa have banned mask mandates in schools.

In April, the CDC changed its guidelines, saying domestic and international travel was allowed for fully vaccinated Americans. However, Walensky said she still did not recommend nonessential travel because of the uptick in COVID-19 cases.

Got whiplash yet? Confused?

It may be difficult to keep up as federal agencies say one thing then another, and local jurisdictions put their own rules in place.