CDC chief: Vaccinated persons are protected from the delta variant

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that vaccines are effective against the delta variant of the coronavirus and there aren’t data suggesting people who received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson version need to get a booster.

“If you are vaccinated, you are safe from the variants that are circulating here in the United States,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky told NBC’s “Today” show.”

The delta variant is adding a twist to the COVID-19 fight. It is more transmissible than previous strains, and doctors are working to understand whether it is more deadly, too.

Places like Los Angeles have decided to reimpose mask rules, even for vaccinated persons, given the uncertainty around the variant.

But Dr. Walensky showed no signs of backing off CDC recommendations that say vaccinated persons don’t need a mask in most settings. She said states and cities are free to issue rules tailored to their regions and suggested officials were trying to protect unvaccinated persons with sweeping policies.

“We have always said that local policymakers need to make policies for their local environment,” she said. “Those masking policies are not to protect the vaccinated, they’re to protect the unvaccinated.”

Dr. Walensky said that’s why CDC guidance differs from the World Health Organization, which urged people to keep wearing masks.

“There are places around the world that are surging. So as the WHO makes those recommendations, they do so in that context,” she said. “Here in the United States, we’re fortunate. We have three vaccines that we know are safe and effective. We have two-thirds of the adult population that is fully vaccinated.”

Dr. Walensky also said Wednesday there aren’t data to suggest people who received the J&J vaccine need to find a different vaccine to stave off disease, after NBC host Savannah Guthrie pointed to studies that say it is “somewhat less effective” than the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna versions that are more common and use different technology.

“Generally, people are agreeing that they anticipate that J&J will perform well against the delta variant as it has so far against other variants circulating in the United States,” Dr. Walensky said.