The latest If they are fully vaccinated, students should have the option to not wear masks when the school year begins, according to recommendations that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Friday. Those guidelines aren't binding, and Texas and other states have already done away with mandatory face mask rules in public schools, although vaccinations haven't been authorized for children under 12. About 1 in 4 teenagers between 12 and 15 are fully vaccinated in the U.S., as are 1 in 3 teens who are 16 or 17. Pfizer and BioNTech, the companies behind one of the mRNA vaccines, announced they have a plan to seek approval for a booster shot. But in a swift and unusual rebuke, the Department of Health and Human Services emphasized fully vaccinated Americans do not need boosters yet. One immunologist told The Post that "current vaccination seems to be largely 'holding,'" and this spat between federal agencies and biotech companies highlights the need for "as much independent data and assessment as possible." Scientists in France, in a report published Thursday in Nature, found the delta coronavirus variant contains mutations that make some antibodies produced after vaccination or infection less effective. Still, delta, a more contagious type of the virus, is significantly unlikely to harm people who are fully vaccinated. "Please, get vaccinated. It will protect you against the surging of the delta variant," the nation's top infectious-disease expert, Anthony S. Fauci, said at a news briefing this week. The delta variant is noteworthy for several reasons — among them, the pathogen is probably the most dominant form of the coronavirus spreading in the U.S. The Post's new FAQ explains why delta is a variant of concern and addresses other common questions, too. A delta-fueled surge has exposed cracks in state plans to remove mask mandates and other restrictions, as correspondent Philip Bump lays out. The variant's spread could have implications for politicians, he writes: "If the country starts moving backward, it will likely shift how people view" Biden's presidency. A backward shift in California, for instance, also could affect Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) position in his upcoming recall election. Other important news Responding to President Biden's plan to offer vaccines door-to-door, Republicans and right-wing media invoked Nazis repeatedly and made other fallacious comparisons. South Korea was held up as a model country for its test-and-trace response early in the pandemic. But a new coronavirus wave, following relaxed restrictions and a delayed vaccine campaign, has been its most severe. Haiti has entered a volatile period, exacerbated by street violence and surging coronavirus cases, after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse this week. The pandemic in Africa has entered the worst phase yet, the World Health Organization said Thursday. Infections are surging across the continent — the week that ended July 4 had a 20 percent higher case rate than the previous week. Countries removing their coronavirus precautions are doing so at a "perilous point," the WHO director general warned, as global deaths from covid exceed 4 million. | 
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