The document, a slide presentation prepared by officials within the US’s health protection agency first obtained by the Washington Post, warned that the Delta variant is as infectious as chickenpox, and argues that government officials must “acknowledge the war has changed” given how dangerous the variant is. Citing data from an outbreak in a county in Massachusetts, the CDC document suggested that infections in vaccinated people can produce viral loads similar to those who are unvaccinated and infected with the variant. However, scientists acknowledge that the likelihood of vaccinated people spreading the virus, if infected, is much rarer compared with unvaccinated people. Among samples that could be sequenced, the CDC found the vast majority had the Delta variant. Nationwide 49.8% of Americans are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Source: The Guardian July 30, 2021 15:20 UTC