RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), fully vaccinated people can spread the pathogen, first discovered in India, as quickly as unvaccinated people.
The Delta variant of the new coronavirus can cause more serious illness than any other known version of the virus and spread as easily as chickenpox, U.S. media reported, citing an internal document from health officials in Washington.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) document describes unpublished data showing that fully vaccinated people can spread the delta variant, first identified in India, at the same rate as unvaccinated people, the report says.
The contents of the document – a slide presentation – were first published last Thursday by The Washington Post newspaper.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky acknowledged Tuesday that people vaccinated with the infected delta variant carry as much virus in their nose and throat as unvaccinated people and can spread coronavirus as quickly as unvaccinated people.
The internal document, which was also accessed by The New York Times, paints a broader and even bleaker picture of the variant: the delta variant is more transmissible than the viruses that cause Mers, Sars, Ebola, the common cold, seasonal flu and smallpox, and is as contagious as chickenpox.