U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Austin) has criticized the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC recently issued an advisory recommending that people, even those that have been fully vaccinated, wear masks indoors in areas with low vaccination rates, according to NBC News.
McCaul took to Twitter to criticize the new advisory as contradictory to previous guidance.
"Old @CDCgov Guidelines: Trust the science. New @CDCgov Guidelines: Doubt the vaccine. Americans shouldn’t have to mask up and question why they got the vaccine in the first place," McCaul wrote in a July 28 Twitter post. "This is a post-pandemic recovery, not a pre-vaccine turnaround."
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said recent studies revealed that it's possible for vaccinated people that contract COVID-19 to pass it to others.
"We're seeing now that it's actually possible if you're a rare breakthrough infection that you can transmit further, which is the reason for the change," Walensky said.
Texas lawmakers have decided against government mandated mask requirements and have left it up to individuals to choose whether they need to wear a mask, according to The Texas Tribune.
“Now is the time for personal responsibility,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, according to The Texas Tribune. “Every Texan has the right to choose whether they will wear a mask, or have their children wear masks.”
A group of Texas teachers have called on Abbott to allow school districts to require mask mandates with schools beginning within the next two weeks.
The new advisory from the CDC is in response to surging number of Delta variant COVID cases. When the CDC lifted masks recommendations on May 13 for vaccinated people, the Delta variant represented only 1% of infections, according to The Wall Street Journal. The CDC now reports that 83% of current COVID cases are of the Delta variant which has primarily impacted regions with low vaccination rates.