To maximize protection from the COVID-19 delta variant and limit the spread of COVID-19 to others, health experts continue to urge that people get vaccinated for COVID-19 and wear a mask indoors in public in areas of substantial or high transmission.

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Dr. Andrew Badley, chair of Mayo Clinic's COVID-19 Task Force, shares three things you can do to stop the spread of COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status:

1. If you're exposed to or test positive for COVID-19, isolate to prevent the spread.
2. If you're exposed to and diagnosed with COVID-19, seek care quickly. If you are treated for COVID-19, the amount of virus that you shed is less than if you're not treated.
3. Do what you can do to prevent societal spread of COVID-19. You should get vaccinated for COVID-19, wash your hands frequently and avoid congregant groups. Even those who aren't vaccinated for COVID-19 can wash their hands frequently and avoid congregant groups.

With school starting up and a lot of large outdoor events, such as fairs and festivals, taking place, many are looking for guidance on what is safe. Dr. Badley says he tailors his advice to each patient, and he suggests approaching the question with a risk-benefit analysis.

"If you have an underlying, immunosuppressive condition that makes you unlikely to respond to the vaccine, if you're unvaccinated, or if you or a loved one at home have a high risk for serious complications from COVID, my advice to a friend or a loved one would be not to put yourself in situations where there's a high risk of exposure," says Dr. Badley.

"I'm hopeful that when we have spikes in cases, as we are having right now, that all people will together rise up and take all of those recommendations so that we can stop this current surge and really stop COVID in its tracks to get control of this pandemic."