The Delta coronavirusvariant surging across the United States appears to cause more severe illnessand spread as easily as chickenpox, according to an internal document from theUS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The document from theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outlines unpublished data thatshows fully vaccinated people might spread the Delta variant, first identifiedin India, at the same rate as unvaccinated people, reports said.
The contents of thedocument - a slide presentation - were first reported by The Washington Post onThursday.
Dr Rochelle PWalensky, the director of the CDC, acknowledged on Tuesday that vaccinatedpeople with so-called breakthrough infections of the Delta variant carry justas much virus in the nose and throat as unvaccinated people and may spread itjust as readily, if less often.
But the internaldocument lays out a broader and grimmer view of the variant.
The delta variant ismore transmissible than the viruses that cause MERS, SARS, Ebola, the commoncold, the seasonal flu and smallpox, and it is as contagious as chickenpox,according to the document
The Delta variant --originally known as B.1.617.2 -- might cause more severe disease, according tothe document.
The agency isexpected to publish additional data on the deadly variant on Friday. "TheCDC is very concerned with the data coming in that Delta is a very seriousthreat that requires action now," the official said.
The director saidthat there are some ways to stop the virus on which everyone has to payattention. As such there is a dire need to wear a mask. Students,staff and visitors to the school should also wear masks.
But vaccinated peopleare safer, the document indicates.
"Vaccinesprevent more than 90 per cent of severe disease, but may be less effective atpreventing infection or transmission," it reads.