Right now, nearly 30 percent of the US population lives in an area considered to have high COVID-19 transmission. That’s according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And what’s driving infection — is the highly contagious Delta variant. To counter the new surge, Los Angeles County reinstated an indoor mask mandate for everyone, vaccinated or not.

Meanwhile, England took a different approach as it copes with a powerful third wave of infection. This week, England lifted nearly all COVID restrictions despite new cases still surging.

Masking mandates, social distancing requirements, bans on large gatherings… all dropped. ‘Personal responsibility’ is the new order of the day.

To discuss:

• Yaneer Bar-Yam is the President of the New England Complex Systems Institute.
• Devra Davis is an epidemiologist.
• Hilary Brueck is the Health Correspondent for Business Insider
• Chris Smith is a consultant clinical virologist at Cambridge University.

For more:

Life expectancy in the United States fell by a year and a half in 2020 primarily due to increases in death due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to early data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention https://t.co/uSeHRDPALj

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 21, 2021

Despite a looming fourth wave of COVID-19 in the United States, many people are still refusing vaccinations. “It’s like riding a motorcycle without a helmet.“ one critical-care physician said. “The wake-up call always comes too late.” https://t.co/WaFX4PqlKD

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) July 16, 2021