- An American tragedy.

That's what President Bidenhas called the pandemic,

saying people are dyingwho don't have to die.

Well, in response, the presidentis now issuing strict rules

on vaccinations for federal employees.

- The president's order hasalready received pushback,

and frustration is growingover mixed messages

from the White House about masks,

with several states making it clear

they won't go back to mask mandates.

Here's Jennifer Wishon.

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- The Delta variant is being blamed

for a surge in new casesand hospitalizations,

leading to numbers similar

to what we saw last summer.

Now President Biden is using his office

to pressure more Americansto get vaccinated,

starting with the government.

- Every federal government employee

will be asked to attest totheir vaccination status.

Anyone who does not attest

or is not vaccinatedwill be required to mask,

no matter where they work,

test one or two times a week

to see if they have acquired COVID.

- [Jennifer] The order impacting

more than four million federal workers.

Pushback was immediate

from the Postal Workers Unions,

several teacher unions and others.

But more Americans areprotecting themselves

against the Delta variant.

Last week some three millionpeople getting shots,

up nearly 20% over the previous week.

Still, frustration over mixed messaging

from the White House is growing

after the CDC issuednew guidance this week,

suggesting even vaccinatedpeople wear masks indoors.

- I don't think mask mandates work.

We had the president

of the United Statestelling all Americans,

begging 'em, get yourvaccine, take your mask off.

Now that guidance is different.

What does that tell people?

Mixed messages from the government.

- [Jennifer] On Capitol Hill,

it's a tale of two houses.

In the Senate, masks are recommended.

In the House, they're required.

- We've gotta go round and see okay,

we can't come to the floor,

I can't execute my constitutional duty

unless I wear a mask.

Which is it? Vaccines or masks?

- Seven states have alreadybanned mask mandates.

At the same time, vaccine requirements

are appearing in the private sector.

Google, Facebook and Netflixrequiring most employees

to be vaccinated before returning to work.

(upbeat music)

Entry into this music festival in Chicago

requires proof of avaccine or negative test.

And while vaccinated Americansare still testing positive

for COVID, their cases tend to be mild.

Well-known Christian author and pastor,

Max Lucado, recently caught the virus,

despite being vaccinatedhimself and wrote,

"Though miserable, themisery would have been worse

with no vaccination."

But as cases rise,

it's clear that the debate

over how to treat this latestsurge is far from over.

Jennifer Wishon, CBN News.

- Well, for more on this story,

our CBN News medical reporter,Lorie Johnson, is with us.

So Lorie, why has the Delta variant caused

such a spike in cases?

- Well, it's far more contagious

than other thing that we'veseen up until this point.

It's really hardly even the same virus.

Health experts say it is one

of the most contagious viruses now

that they've ever seen

as it is as contagious as Ebola

and the chicken pox.

Yesterday, Admiral Brett Giroir,

who is a physician and was one

of President Trump's health advisors says

if you haven't been vaccinated

and if you haven't already had COVID-19,

it's just a matter of time

before you get this Delta variant.

It carries 1,000 times more viral load

than any of the variantswe've seen so far.

- Is it airborne?

Can you just get it from breathing air?

Do you have to be close tosomeone else who's infected?

- Yes, it is stilltransmitted person-to-person

but when a person has 1,000times more viral load,

it is extremely easy to catch

if you are near someone.

- I read a report just last week saying

that we're only one mutation away

from having a variant that's even worse

that could get throughall the vaccinations.

What can you tell us about that?

- Well, viruses mutate.

That is the very nature of viruses.

They always mutate.

Anytime they are passedfrom person to person,

as viruses spread, that's how they mutate.

Sometimes the mutationsaren't that big of a deal,

sometimes they are a very big deal.

So we already know, thisis the Delta variant.

We already know that the lambda

and the gamma variants are out there,

and we don't know what they will do.

So the best way to avoid variants

is, of course, to avoidthe spread of disease.

- Well, are vaccines stillthe best defense against this?

I go back in history

when the virus first appeared,

the CDC was saying in March.

You don't need to wear masks now.

You need to wear a mask.

The advice we're getting seemsto be all over the board.

So is vaccination the best way to do it

or should we go back into some kind

of personal lockdown

where you literally don't expose yourself?

- Well, masks and lockdownsare like shooting a bullet

at this virus, whereasvaccines are like a cannon.

So yes, vaccines are the best solution

according to almost all health experts.

And when people decidewhether or not they want

to get the vaccine,

I know for me, one of the things

that I thought about was long COVID.

Long COVID is extremely serious.

It's affecting hundredsof thousands of Americans.

So many people have long COVID

that it has been now beendeclared a disability

because it actuallyprevents you from living

your regular life.

You have body aches, brain fog,

enormously serious fatigue.

And it doesn't seem to be getting better.

But Gordon, people whohave long COVID generally

were people who had onlymild cases of COVID.

And now scientists are telling us

that there's a very real possibility

of long-term permanentneurological problems,

such as Alzheimer'sassociated with COVID-19.

And this would not be surprising

because this is what wesaw with the Spanish flu,

the pandemic 100 years ago.

10 years after the pandemic ended,

there was a huge surge inAlzheimer's among people

who had mild cases of the Spanish flu.

So when people say I don'twant that vaccine in me,

you also have to ask yourself the question

do you want the virus in you?

We know that viruses hangaround inside our bodies

and can later turn into terrible things.

The chicken pox virus canhang around in your body

for decades, and thenyou can get shingles.

And if you've ever known anyone

who's had shingles, it'sexcruciatingly painful.

- Yeah, I'm one that's had shingles.

And now I'm getting the shingles vaccine.

So it's one of the problemswith novel viruses.

We just don't know what they're gonna do.

What do you think about the report

that there's a link to a diminished IQ

if you've had COVID-19?

- Well, see there again,

we're hearing all this reporting

of neurological problems

from people who have had COVID-19

and still have long COVID,

and then now that theyare surfacing these things

that may indicate long-term

or permanent neurological problems,

which is what you're talking about.

So for me personally,

when I was deciding whetheror not to get vaccinated,

I was never worriedabout dying from COVID,

or even being hospitalized

but I don't want that virus in me

because of what you just said,

the neurological problems

because my brain isreally important to me,

and so again, people say Idon't want that vaccine in me.

That's your choice but doyou want the virus in you?

That's what you have to weigh.

And again, every medicaldecision is risk-benefit.

You have to weigh therisks and the benefits.

- All right, well, Lorie,thanks for the insight.