A CDC document warns that the delta variant of COVID-19 is as contagious as chickenpox

The delta variant of the coronavirus spreads as easily as chickenpox and appears to cause more serious illness than the others, according to an internal document from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) accessed by The newspaper. Washington Post.

According to this, the delta variant is more contagious than viruses that cause serious illness such as MERS, SARS, Ebola, the common flu, or smallpox.

It is so contagious that it acts almost like a new virus.

[Biden asks states to award $ 100 to those who get vaccinated and forces federal employees to get immunized]

The information has not been confirmed by our sister network NBC News, which has already contacted the CDC.

The United States is once again the epicenter of the pandemic, after registering the highest number of infections in the world last week. 

Between July 19 and 25, there were 500,332 cases of COVID-19, which represents an increase of 131% over the previous week, more than anywhere else in the world, according to data from the World Health Organization ( WHO).

It is followed by Brazil with 324,334 infections (13% more) and Indonesia with 289,029 (17% more).

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 Almost 164 million people are fully vaccinated in the United States, including 80% of older adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is 49.3% of the population.

In addition, another 26 million have received at least one dose, bringing the percentage to 57.1%.

The use of the mask, "essential"

The document, with preliminary data obtained recently and not yet published, shows that people vaccinated and infected with the delta variant may be able to transmit the virus as easily as those who are not vaccinated, since they have measurable viral loads similar to those of people not vaccinated and infected with the variant.

For this reason, given its greater transmissibility and due to the low levels of vaccination, the agency considers "essential" the "universal use" of the mask.

It also seeks to renew its messages to the population to insist that immunization is the best defense against a variant as contagious as delta, according to the document.

 This is released just a few days after the CDC advised the use of masks indoors to vaccinated people, due to the increase in cases caused by this strain and the low level of immunization.

The director of the CDC, Rochelle Walensky, then explained that the data collected so far has made it possible to determine that "people have the potential to infect," even if they are vaccinated.

"If a person is in a place of high transmission and is in contact with many people, this can lead to an infection. That is why it is important to wear masks," repeated Walensky, who stressed that the country faces "the pandemic of the unvaccinated ".

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"The war has changed"

The unpublished report shows that this variant can be as transmissible in vaccinated as in unvaccinated people.

Vaccines prevent 90% of severe cases, but may be less effective in preventing transmission of the disease.

Faced with this situation, the next steps for the CDC is to "recognize that the war has changed," according to the agency itself, and improve its communication to make the population see that:

• there is a risk of contagion despite being vaccinated

• the danger is reduced three times in those vaccinated

• the risk of serious illness or death decreases 10 times in those vaccinated

"Although it is rare, we believe that, individually, vaccinated people can spread the virus, so we updated our recommendation," said a federal health official, who spoke with the aforementioned outlet on condition of anonymity for not being authorized to speak publicly, adding that the data will be released on Friday.

As part of an effort being made by the federal government and state health departments to push for vaccination, President Joe Biden on Thursday asked states to award $ 100 to those who get immunized.  

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 Investigations into the variant stem from an outbreak that occurred on July 4 in Provincetown, Massachusetts, according to one of the investigators, who called them "deeply puzzling."

According to the genetic analysis of the outbreak, vaccinated people were transmitting the virus to other vaccinated people.

The Associated Press news agency also reported that the CDC will release a report on the recent outbreak in Provincetown on Friday.

With information from The Washington Post and AP.