Delta variant as contagious as chickenpox, CDC says

It can even be transmitted by vaccination, and may cause more serious illness than previous coronavirus strains.

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The document, titled “Improving Communication on Vaccine Penetration and Vaccine Effectiveness,” said the alternative required a new approach to help the public understand the risk — including making clear that unvaccinated people were 10 times more likely than those who were vaccinated. seriously ill or die.

“They recognized that the war had changed,” she said. “Improving communication about individual risks among vaccinators.”

Recommended preventative measures have included making vaccinations mandatory for healthcare professionals to protect the vulnerable and returning to wearing face masks in general.

The CDC confirmed the authenticity of the document, first reported by the Washington Post.

Vaccination is less likely to get infected

Whereas vaccinated people were less likely to contract the infection, once they had such a delta ‘super infection’ – in contrast to the case with earlier variants, they may now be just as likely to transmit the disease to others as the unvaccinated.

“Higher viral loads indicate an increased risk of transmission and have raised concerns that, unlike other variables, people with delta vaccinia can transmit the virus,” Rochelle Wallinsky, chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement.

On Friday, the CDC Data from a study of the outbreak in Massachusetts, where it said three-quarters of those infected had been fully vaccinated. Walinsky said this study played a pivotal role in the CDC’s decision this week to once again recommend that vaccinated people wear masks in some situations.

Delta leadership deaths

The CDC said that as of July 26, 6,587 people have seen a breakthrough in COVID-19 infection after full vaccination and have been hospitalized or died. It stopped reporting mild infections this spring, but in the report, it was estimated that there are about 35,000 symptomatic infections each week in the United States.

In parts of the world where large numbers of people have not yet been vaccinated, the delta variant has again led to higher mortality and hospitalization rates.

Health systems in many countries are now overwhelmed: “The hard-earned gains are being jeopardized or lost,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.

‘Virus is getting fitter’

Mike Ryan, the WHO’s chief emergencies expert, told reporters that vaccines are still effective in preventing serious illness and death: “We’re fighting the virus itself, but the virus is getting fitter.”

Even in wealthy countries that were among the first to launch vaccination campaigns, cases of infection rose.

While vaccinations have kept death rates low thus far, a large population remains at risk, especially those who refuse vaccinations – a particular problem in parts of the United States where voters supported former US President Donald Trump. Trump is the only president who has not been involved in public service campaigns to encourage people to get vaccinated.

Nearly a third of adults in the United States have not yet had their first shot. Areas with low vaccination rates have seen sharp spikes in cases in recent weeks, and authorities fear hospitalizations and deaths are not far behind.

The chief US infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told Reuters he expects the vaccines, which have so far only received emergency approval, to start receiving full regulatory approval in August, and that this could help convince more people. By vaccination.

A British panel says protection is likely to wane over time

In Britain, where the delta variant has caused a sharp increase in infections in recent months despite one of the world’s fastest vaccination campaigns, an advisory panel to the government said protection from vaccines is likely to wane over time, meaning vaccination campaigns could continue for years.

On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which advised vaccinated Americans months ago that they no longer need to wear masks, reversed course, saying even those fully vaccinated should wear face coverings in situations where it is likely to spread. It has the virus.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden urged local governments to pay people to get vaccinated and establish new rules requiring federal workers to provide proof of vaccination or face regular testing, mask mandates and travel restrictions.

“The main thing that changes [because of delta] Will masks continue to be used and that in countries where this requirement has been lifted, it should be reintroduced,” said Carlo Federico Perno, head of the department of microbiology and immunodiagnostics at the Bambino Gesu Hospital in Rome.

More countries applying restrictions

Countries in Asia, many of which avoided the worst outcomes to hit Western countries in 2020, have been hit particularly hard in recent weeks. Several new restrictions were announced on Friday.

Starting on MondayAnd Members of the military will help police in Sydney, Australia’s largest city, in checking the isolation of people who have tested positive.

The Philippines has announced a plan to lock down the metropolitan area of ​​Manila, which is home to more than 13 million people, for two weeks.

In Japan, where an increase in cases has overshadowed the Olympics, the government has proposed states of emergency through the end of August in three prefectures near Tokyo and western Osaka Prefecture.

“The infection is expanding. The situation is very serious,” Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said, warning that the infection had not yet reached its peak.