counties have substantial or high transmission, and the cdc has been recommending indoor masking in public spaces in all of those counties. so we have these recommendations to tackle the delta variant where we are right now. and we would encourage following those recommendations and policies at the local level to do so, to tackle the biggest challenge we have in the moment. >> and the reporting is that early indications show omicron is spreading twice as fast as delta. is that the cdc's view, is that right, are you comfortable being in this policy holding pattern for two weeks or more while we learn more? >> you know, i think we have to do all of the prevention activities that we know have worked for all of the sars-cov-2 variants that we've had to date and we have to follow the science. and it's going to take some time for that science to emerge. and we are going to be prepared. we continue to be prepared. we have seen mutations in the