Technologies

CDC and WHO recommend fully vaccinated should wear masks indoors. Here’s the latest

The CDC recently updated its stance to say fully vaccinated people should wear masks in certain areas. We’ll explain what’s going on.

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors again in some areas — including schools — it announced during a telebriefing Tuesday. This is different from its guidance earlier in July that said it’s safe for teachers and students who are fully vaccinated to skip the face masks. So why the sudden change? A spike in COVID-19 cases across the US caused by the highly contagious delta variant has resulted in the CDC updating its guidance for mask wearing.

The World Health Organization continues to recommend that to slow the rapidly spreading delta variant, everyone should continue to wear face masks in crowded areas, even people who are past the two-week mark after receiving their second vaccine dose, for example from Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca.

Both the WHO and CDC agree that people who aren’t vaccinated should continue to wear face masks. But given the high rate of protection that vaccinated people have against the delta variant and other COVID strains, why are some medical experts in conflict about a barrier over your nose and mouth? We continue to update this story.

CDC guidance: Fully vaccinated should continue wearing masks in some areas

The CDC on Tuesday changed its guidance for mask wearing to say that vaccinated people should continue wearing masks indoors in certain areas of the country. This includes areas where COVID-19 cases are on the rise. It also changed the guidance for K-12 schools, saying everyone should wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. Earlier this month, it said fully vaccinated teachers and students don’t need to wear masks inside the school.

Originally, the guidelines said those who are fully vaccinated can «resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing» except where required, such as in planes and businesses. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky previously stuck to that guidance on NBC’s Today show on June 30, saying fully vaccinated people are protected from the delta variant.

The CDC warned CNN that there’s still a small chance fully vaccinated people can become infected with the new variant if they’re exposed. We’ve asked the CDC for comment.

What is the CDC’s new guidance for kids and teachers?

Those who aren’t vaccinated — ages 2 and up — need to wear a mask while inside but don’t have to when they’re outside. For fully vaccinated teachers and students, the CDC recommends continuing to wear masks inside the school building.

For child care programs, regarding schools with children younger than 12, universal mask use can be implemented, as children this age aren’t eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines yet. Mask mandates can also go into effect if coronavirus transmission is high in that community.

For schools that can’t provide adequate physical distancing, the CDC says «layered COVID-19 prevention strategies» should be put in place to protect kids and teachers who aren’t fully vaccinated.

Why are experts at odds over masks for vaccinated people?

In June, WHO officials repeated a longstanding recommendation that everyone should wear masks to stem the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, the CDC until Tuesday had been continuing to uphold its guidance that not all fully vaccinated Americans need to wear masks indoors or maintain social distancing. White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said that those who’ve had two doses of the vaccine should still «go the extra step» of wearing a mask when traveling to places with low vaccination rates.

A few days after the WHO recommended that people who have received the COVID-19 vaccine should continue wearing a face mask, Fauci explained why the advice differed from the CDC’s. «There’s a reason for that,» he said in a virtual White House press briefing. «The WHO is responsible for the planet as a whole. It’s different in the world in general from here in the United States.»

So, while the WHO is monitoring the pandemic around the world, with a majority of people unvaccinated, the CDC is responding to the situation in the US, where the vaccines have been shown to work quite effectively against hospitalization from the delta variant. Only 13.9% of the global population is fully vaccinated, according to vaccine tracker site Our World in Data. The US nearly quadruples that number: 49.7% of Americans are considered fully vaccinated as of July 4, according to the Mayo Clinic.

For Fauci and the CDC, the focus is on getting a greater number of Americans vaccinated in the first place. On July 4, Fauci said that 99.2% of COVID-related deaths last month involved unvaccinated people.

What is WHO’s position on mask wearing?

Wearing a mask consistently continues to be important, even for people who are vaccinated, a WHO official said during a press briefing in late June. «People cannot feel safe just because they had the two doses. They still need to protect themselves.»

Wearing masks in public places is essential to keep people from inhaling particles that will cause them to become sick, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an American infectious disease epidemiologist, said during the same briefing.

While the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are showing robust protection against variants, «breakthrough» infections may still sporadically occur. In a case in early June, a fully vaccinated woman in Napa, California, died from COVID-19. She was over 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions.

Why is the coronavirus delta variant serious?

The delta variant is the latest of new coronavirus variants and is the most contagious of the variants identified so far, according to the WHO. The delta variant has been identified in 96 countries so far and is spreading among the unvaccinated population, the organization said during the press conference.

«The delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the US to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19,» Fauci said during a White House press briefing on June 22.

Will there be new mask mandates or tighter restrictions?

Some countries have already begun tightening COVID-19 restrictions. For instance, four cities across Australia have returned to lockdown, including Sydney’s state of New South Wales. In the US, Los Angeles County is strongly recommending face masks indoors, regardless of whether someone has been vaccinated, though masks aren’t required in most places. Some countries within Africa and Asia — for instance, South Africa and Malaysia — have also moved into lockdown due to the delta variant spreading.

Some places never loosened mask mandates, such as airports and airlines. In the US, other public transportation facilities require masks, such as buses and trains.

For more information, here’s what you need to know about «long COVID» and how it’s treated. Also, read up on these COVID-19 vaccine side effects and important dos and don’ts of getting your COVID-19 vaccine.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Technologies

Apple Gives a Reason for the Reports of Terrible iPhone 17 Scratches

If you’ve seen scratched iPhone 17s, Apple says it’s just residue from their old display stands.

You may have missed it, but the internet had a collective meltdown about the brand-new iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max, and iPhone Air demo units looking scratched up in stores. We finally have an answer. And no, the phones are not, in fact, made of butter.

Apple has officially weighed in on «scratchgate,» and the culprit isn’t a design flaw — it’s grimy display stands. Apparently, old and worn-out MagSafe holders were rubbing off on the backs of the new devices, creating the illusion of a scratch.

The company says that it’s fixing the problematic displays, and the marks can simply be wiped clean. The great iPhone panic of 2025 has ended not with a bang, but with a microfiber cloth.

Not all scratches are equal, and the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max’s shape could make the anodized coating susceptible to chipping. People are also reacting to videos from iFixIt and Zach Nelson’s YouTube channel JerryRigEverything. The videos show a possible issue with the anodized coating around the edges of the camera plateau on the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. In his video, Nelson takes a quarter and rubs it along the edge of the camera plateau, causing the coating to chip.

Apple explained to CNET that the anodization on the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max is just as durable as that on other products. However, over time, it may show small abrasions with normal wear and tear. The company said that its anodization layer is extremely hard and exceeds industry standard guidelines for microhardness.

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Concerns about scratching and durability come on the heels of one of Apple’s biggest iPhone redesigns in years. And while marks and scratches don’t affect how Apple’s phones work, no one wants to have a new $800-plus iPhone look anything but the best it can. The iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro units CNET has been testing for the past two weeks don’t show any scratches, chips or scuffs.

If you’re concerned about your new iPhone getting scuffed, you can always buy a case and screen protector.

What is the iPhone 17 Pro made of?

The 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max bodies are made with aerospace-grade 7000 series aluminum, Ceramic Shield and Ceramic Shield 2. The Pro models have an aluminum unibody frame, which means a lot of the back is no longer made of glass.

While some on social media point to the new aluminum chassis as the problem behind the demo-unit damage, multiple videos show the scratches on the Ceramic Shield back panel on the dark blue iPhone 17 Pro (and on the black iPhone Air). There are even videos like this, where a person purposely scratches the back of their new iPhone Air only for the residue to wipe away, mostly clean.

Ceramic Shield, made of ceramic nano-crystals suspended in a glass matrix, covers most of the 17 Pro’s back under the camera bar. Apple says it is four times more resistant to cracks than the back glass on the iPhone 16 Pro.

Then there’s Ceramic Shield 2 on the 17 Pro’s display, which Apple says is three times more scratch-resistant than the Ceramic Shield used on previous iPhone models (and the backs of the new Pro and Air models).

During a briefing for the new iPhone models on the day they were announced, an Apple spokesperson noted that Ceramic Shield is focused on handling drops and resisting cracks, while Ceramic Shield 2 is about crack and scratch durability.

JerryRigEverything’s video and anodizing on the edge

In his iPhone 17 Pro video, JerryRigEverything’s Nelson does his usual array of scratch, bend and burn tests, but calls out a possible issue with the anodized coating on the iPhone 17 Pro’s aluminum.

«Apple forgot to do one really important thing. They ignored an international standard. And it’s going to haunt every single person who buys this phone,» Nelson warns in his video.

The ISO standard Nelson refers to is for decorative anodizing and recommends a specific radius threshold that’s 10 times the thickness of the finish, which apparently the edge around the camera bar doesn’t follow.

Apple explained to CNET that its anodization on the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max exceeds industry standards and that the edges of the camera plateau have similar characteristics to the edges of the anodized cases on other Apple products.

In his video, Nelson explains that corners, like those around the iPhone 17 Pro’s camera plateau, are weak points for an anodized coating. Think of the anodized layer on the aluminum like nail polish: It gives the phone its color but also helps protect it. If the coating gets scratched too deeply, you can see the actual metal color of the aluminum underneath. More people are likely to notice the damage on darker colors than cosmic orange.

In his video, Nelson shows how the corners around the 17 Pro’s camera plateau are particularly a concern because they lack a chamfer, fillet or bevel, which would typically help protect the edge from having its anodized coating chipped. He acknowledges that Apple used a robust coating and shows how it protects the back against a coin sliding against it or a key scraped on it.

But when he takes the same quarter and rubs it along the edge of the camera plateau, chunks of the finish come off.

I should note that Nelson made all of the scratches on the phone’s body with a knife, which leads me to suspect that someone may have intentionally scratched in-store demo units, in addition to Apple’s explanation about the MagSafe risers.

It could also be that people were holding multiple iPhone display samples one-handed for a photo or video, and that the sapphire crystal covering on the rear cameras rubbed against the back of the other iPhone. Sapphire crystal is second only to diamond in terms of its hardness. As anyone who’s had a retail job knows, in-store display units are often subjected to some of the worst customer treatment.

«I’m a massive fan of this new iPhone design,» says Nelson toward the end of his video. «Less glass and more aluminum is always a good thing.»

iFixIt’s ‘spalling’ iPhone 17 Pro teardown

In iFixIt’s iPhone 17 Pro teardown video, Shahram Mokhtari, the company’s lead teardown technician, confirmed Nelson’s finding of an issue with the anodized coating on the camera plateau’s edges. Mokhtari said the issue isn’t the aluminum unibody but the shape of the phone’s camera bump. The plateau’s sharp edges don’t adhere to the anodized coating, but flat surfaces, like the phone’s back, do.

Under a microscope, Mokhtari drags a hardness tool (equivalent to a penny) across the flat back of the camera plateau. You can see where he dragged, but the anodized coating is still intact. He drags the same tool across the edge of the camera plateau, and the coating chips off, revealing the metal underneath. The technical term for this is spalling.

«When there’s an edge to the oxide layer, like at the edge of the camera plateau, the brittle oxide bears the stress of your keys or coins rubbing against it. And so it spalls,» Mokhtari explains in the video.

He also acknowledges that iFixIt hasn’t seen the same level of vulnerability on the iPhone Air and standard iPhone 17 because their backs are made of Ceramic Shield and glass, respectively.

Are the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air durable?

In short, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air are durable, yes. But normal wear and tear on iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models could cause small abrasions to show. These issues won’t change how the phone operates or is used, but putting a case on the Pro models seems like the only way to avoid any chipping.

The iPhone Air and baseline iPhone 17 don’t seem to have the same issue with spalling that Pro models have because their backs are made of glass.

If you find that your new iPhone is scratched or has some of the anodized coating chipped off, take it back to where you bought it and see if you can exchange it. If those scratches were done deliberately, you’re likely stuck with it.

If you’re worried about your new iPhone getting damaged, the best solution is a case. Luckily, you have plenty of options.

Technologies

T-Mobile Hikes Late-Payment Charge Amid Other Recent Billing Changes

T-Mobile encourages customers to use autopay by offering monthly discounts.

T-Mobile is increasing the fee it charges customers who pay their bills late. Starting Nov. 1, the carrier will raise its late payment fee from $7 to $10, according to updated billing disclosures sent to customers and first reported by The Mobile Report.

The company says the fee will now be the greater of $10 or 5% of the customer’s monthly bill, depending on state regulations. The move represents a roughly 43% increase in the minimum charge and brings T-Mobile more in line with what rival carriers like AT&T and Verizon already assess for overdue payments.

A representative for T-Mobile did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: T-Mobile Is the New Mobile Network Champ. I Got a Behind-the-Scenes View Into How It Got There

The higher late fee could hit customers with smaller monthly plans the hardest, especially those who don’t use autopay, which is an option T-Mobile promotes by offering monthly discounts. The policy change continues a broader trend of wireless providers tightening payment terms and nudging subscribers toward automated billing as part of cost-control and retention strategies.

T-Mobile has not commented on the reason for the increase, but the change follows other recent billing and plan adjustments as the company continues to streamline operations after its merger with Sprint and amid rising operational costs.

Read more: My First Look at T-Mobile’s Unique Starlink T-Satellite Service Made Me Head Far From Home

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Technologies

It’s Easy to Get Free Extended Security Updates for Windows 10. Just Do This One Thing

Windows 10 support ends on Oct 14. Here’s how to keep access to Windows 10 security updates without spending a dime.

The era of Windows 10 support ends on Oct.14. After more than a decade, Microsoft is prioritizing updates for the most current OS, Windows 11, and stopping security updates for Windows 10.

If updating to Windows 11 isn’t an option, you can snag a year of extended security updates for the prior OS for $30. If you’re on a budget, there’s a free option that will let you keep extended security updates for a year. You’ll just be required to connect your OneDrive account and enable cloud backup.

Getting free updates on Windows 10, which was released more than a decade ago in July 2015, is a pretty big deal. As the most widely used Windows OS, it accounts for just over 53% of installs as of May 2025. Millions of people would be left without security support unless they upgrade. The cloud backup option gives users a choice without costing money.

The only potential issue is OneDrive. Anyone with a Microsoft account gets up to 5GB of storage for free. However, as The Verge points out, some backups may exceed this limitation, requiring users to purchase a monthly or yearly plan. At $2 a month for 100GB of cloud storage, a year of OneDrive still costs less than the $30 for a year of additional security updates, but it may still cause frustration among some customers.

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How to get Windows 10 security updates for free

Per Microsoft’s blog post, there are now three options for those who want to stay on Windows 10 and still receive security updates:

Use Windows Backup to sync settings to the cloud via OneDrive.
Redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points. Redeeming those points can buy you one year of security updates.
Pay $30 for the Extended Security Updates program.

These options are available now. Microsoft began offering its Extended Security Updates program in July. Signing up for this option will guarantee updates until Oct. 13, 2026, although businesses will have the option to purchase up to three years of additional updates. So, this isn’t a long-term solution, but rather gives you more time to upgrade to Windows 11.

It’s been an uphill battle for Microsoft, as people have been reluctant to upgrade their existing hardware. There are myriad differences between the two operating systems, but Microsoft’s string of unpopular decisions, along with Windows 11 compatibility issues, have kept the prior-generation OS around a lot longer than it normally would.