CDC Warns The Delta Variant Is “As Contagious As Chickenpox”
I don’t know about you but I am sick and tired of hearing about Covid. I thought we were essentially done with this mess. But unfortunately, the bad news just keeps coming. The CDC is now saying that the delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox. I never had chickenpox but I remember the stories and how once one kid in a class got it essentially everyone else had it as well. Before that vaccine was developed it was essentially a right of passage to have the disease. Not exactly sure how I escaped without it but I do not feel as though I missed out!
In a confidential document that circled around Thursday, the CDC warned lawmakers that the delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox. They say disease also has a longer transmission window than the original Covid-19 strain and could make older individuals sicker, even if they’ve been fully vaccinated. News organization CNBC has viewed the document which they say was authenticated by the CDC.
The delta variant is the prevalent form of COVID in the US currently. It has already spread to over 130 countries. Medical professionals say it is more transmissible than diseases such as smallpox, Ebola, the Spanish Flu, and the common cold. The only known disease more transmissible is measles. “The war has changed,” CDC officials wrote in the document. This is due to the fact that those infected with delta are carrying 1000x the viral load in their nasal passages.
While the vaccines prevent severe disease vaccinated individuals can still become infected with the variant. This means that community spread is still a concern among vaccinated individuals. The risk of being hospitalized or extremely ill is small, however. Per the document there are is an average of 35,000 symptomatic infections occurring weekly in vaccinated individuals. That’s in a population of over 162 million who have been vaccinated. The number vaccinated accounts for around 50% of the US population.
The document was presented to lawmakers just two days after the CDC came out and recommended fully vaccinated Americans in areas with rate high Covid infections wear masks indoors. This contradicts previous statements that those past the two-week mark after vaccination no longer need to mask up.
Those who have read the document say it illustrates how “frustrated” those in the federal government are. Much of their frustration is due to the fact that there are “safe and effective vaccines” that many Americans are either still hesitant about or completely against.
