DELTA COVID-19 VARIANT SPREADS LIKE CHICKENPOX

Fri 30 July 2021:

The Delta COVID-19 strain spreads as easily as chickenpox, with fully vaccinated people also transmitting the virus, The Washington Post reported, citing an internal document of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), expected to be published later on Friday.

Transmissibility of Delta variant is almost as high as of chickenpox, with each infected person, on average, infecting eight or nine others, according to the document.

Fully vaccinated people can transmit the virus as well as unvaccinated people, it also said. However, vaccination provides substantial protection against the virus, the document added.

The disease control center called for universal mask requirements and vaccination as a best tool against Delta variant.

The CDC is the national health protection agency, conducting regular research on health threats.

The CDC on Tuesday recommended that everyone should mask up while indoors, including those who have been fully vaccinated. It was a reversal from its policy in May when it said masks were no longer necessary for those who had finished taking their shots.

An anonymous federal health official told The Post that the data cited in the slideshow played a key role in the CDC’s recent decision and that the information would be published in full on Friday.

“Although it’s rare, we believe that at an individual level, vaccinated people may spread the virus, which is why we updated our recommendation,” the official said. “Waiting even days to publish the data could result in needless suffering, and as public health professionals, we cannot accept that.”

The United States is now experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases, with Delta strain accounting for over 80% of new infections as of July 20. Some 70% of US adults, or 178 million, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 60%, or 155 million, are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

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