Delta as infectious as chickenpox: CDC report

THE VARIANT FIRST DETECTED IN INDIA WAS ALSO CAUSING MORE SEVERE COVID-19 AND WAS MORE LIKELY TO BREAK THROUGH PROTECTION FROM VACCINES

WASHINGTON:

The Delta variant of the coronavirus spreads as easily as chickenpox and it can be passed on by vaccinated people as readily as it is spread by unvaccinated people, according to an internal document of America’s top health agency, several US news publications reported on Friday.

The document suggested universal masking, and experts said its content also pointed to the need for a booster third vaccine shot.

The Washington Post, which first reported these findings, said the document by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) makes the case for health officials to “acknowledge the war has changed”, citing unpublished data from outbreak investigations.

The variant was also causing more severe Covid-19 and was more likely to break through protection afforded by vaccines, but the health authority said such incidents were very rare.

“Given higher transmissibility and current vaccine coverage, universal masking is essential to reduce transmission of the Delta variant,” said the purported report, a copy of which was uploaded by the Washington Post on its website.

The variant was first detected in India, where it is implicated in the devastating second wave of infection recorded in Aprilmay. In the months since, it has triggered new waves of infections in several countries, including some with high vaccine coverage such as the UK.

If infected, vaccinated people were found carrying the same amount of measurable viral load as those unvaccinated and it was this finding, the news reports suggested, that was behind the CDC’S course-reversal on masks recently.

The health agency changed its two-month-old guidance allowing vaccinated people to