In a reversal of its COVID-19 guidance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now urging both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated to wear masks indoors in counties with "high" or "substantial" transmission rates, the agency announced Tuesday.

The recommendation applies to more than half of American counties and all but two counties in Alabama — Lowndes and Perry counties, where the transmission rate was only "moderate" for the week of July 18. Tallapoosa, Coosa and Elmore counties are all considered to have "high" COVID-19 transmission rates.