Chicago public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday that residents shouldn’t be concerned with the World Health Organization’s recommendation this week that fully vaccinated people should wear masks indoors because of the highly contagious delta variant.

       She said in an online question-and-answer session that Chicago would continue following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance that fully vaccinated people can take the face covering off in most situations. The WHO recommendation is global guidance and was made in consideration of places where vaccines are scarce, she said.

       “Right now, while our outbreak remains in very good control locally, even with the delta here, there’s not a reason to adjust that (CDC) guidance,” Arwady said. “I don’t want to rule out that this could be something that could be a recommendation again in the future … But right now, I think we are feeling good about where we are. The most important thing of course is to get vaccinated.”

       Arwady, who said the delta variant will likely be dominant in Chicago later this summer, also touched on Los Angeles County’s advisory this week for indoor masking for vaccinated people and said Chicago is not there yet. However, those who want to be more cautious are welcome to keep a face covering on, she said.

       “I take the variants really seriously,” Arwady said during an online question-and-answer session. “But I feel confident that we remain in a good place at this point, and I don’t want you overly concerned if you are fully vaccinated.”

       What to know about the delta variant in Illinois ？

       Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, gives an update to the Chicago Public Schools reopening plan at City Hall on Feb. 4, 2021. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

       Arwady’s comments echoed those from state officials who have said the delta variant, first detected in India, is a chief concern but not yet a reason to move backward on reopening.

       Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday the delta variant will become the dominant strain statewide in Illinois by fall, while Arwady’s predicted it would take over the city’s COVID-19 cases “in the next couple of months.”

       “The lessons here at home and across the world are a harbinger of what could happen here, particularly in low-vaccinated areas, if we don’t see a higher uptake of the vaccine across Illinois,” Pritzker said.

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       Illinois’ 103 reported cases of delta infections as of Tuesday were the lowest among all variants the state was tracking. But the variant was estimated to be about twice as contagious as the original coronavirus strains and was deemed the “greatest threat” to the U.S. getting past COVID-19 by Dr. Anthony Fauci.

       Arwady said at least 70 of Illinois’ delta cases occurred in Chicago last week, and were heavily concentrated among unvaccinated people. With the share of adults with at least one dose of the vaccine landing at 71.6% in Illinois and 66.7% in Chicago, both Arwady and Pritzker said it’s a race between inoculating more residents and the spread of the delta variant.

       “We definitely have some concern about the delta variant, because if there are unvaccinated social networks or neighborhoods in Chicago, even a single case is more likely to spread and more likely to cause more people to get COVID,” Arwady said. “If we’re vaccinated, that’s not a major cause for concern. If we’re unvaccinated, it could be.”

       ayin@chicagotribune.com

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