The Delta variant of Covid-19 is just as contagious as chickenpox and is also likely to have more severe health consequences than the previous variants. Additionally, infected people can transmit it to others whether they are vaccinated or not, according to US official documents.
The findings, based on scientific research, are contained in an internally distributed report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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This document, whose authenticity has been confirmed by the Washington Post, is accompanied by a warning that stipulates that the war has changed.
The CDC director used her findings to recommend that even people who have been vaccinated should wear masks indoors.
The report was based in particular on an analysis conducted in the city of Provincetown, Massachusetts, where almost 900 cases of Covid were detected after the 4th of July celebrations, even though three-quarters of the population had been vaccinated.
However, according to the CDC report, there was “no difference” in the viral load between vaccinated and unvaccinated people, suggesting that the level of infection is the same regardless of vaccination status.
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Still, according to the local news site Masslive.com, there have been some hospitalizations but thankfully no deaths linked to the outbreak.
This finding “is the most important factor in changing the CDC’s recommendations on masks,” New York University infectious disease specialist Celine Gounder told AFP: “This is not for protecting vaccinated people who tend to have mild or no symptoms when infected, but we think they can infect other people.”
In addition, the CDC report shows that infections in vaccinated people are not as rare as previously thought, with “35,000 symptomatic infections per week out of 162 million vaccinated Americans.”
Based on international studies, the CDC finds that Covid was originally about as contagious as influenza, but has become comparable to chickenpox – one person infected with the delta variant passes it on to an average of eight others, which is still less than measles.
Data from Canada, Singapore, and Scotland show that it can be more dangerous, with more hospitalizations and deaths.
References
C.D.C. Internal Report Calls Delta Variant as Contagious as Chickenpox
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