Unvaccinated Americans shouldn't be traveling over Labor Day weekend, CDC director says

• Americans who aren't vaccinated against COVID-19 shouldn't travel this weekend, the CDC director said.
• "People who are fully vaccinated and who are wearing masks can travel," she added.
• COVID-19 cases are surging, especially in the South, as the Delta variant spreads in the US.

Americans who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 should not travel over Labor Day weekend, said Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"First and foremost, if you are unvaccinated, we would recommend not traveling," Walensky said at a White House press briefing on Tuesday when asked about travel guidance for the holiday weekend.

"We have actually articulated that people who are fully vaccinated and who are wearing masks can travel," she said. "Although given where we are with disease transmission right now, we would say that people need to take their own - these risks into their own consideration as they think about traveling."

COVID-19 cases driven by the Delta variant are surging, especially in the South, where vaccination rates are lower and some governors have blocked mask and vaccine mandates. Health experts have said this wave is largely hitting unvaccinated Americans.

Experts say the COVID-19 vaccines work to prevent serious illness and hospitalization.

The US is averaging more than 100,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations a day for the first time since February. Citing Department of Health and Human Services data, The New York Times reported over the weekend that Florida had over 16,400 people hospitalized with COVID-19, the most of any state.