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We've got a packed newsletter this week with the latest on the highly contagious delta variant, which the CDC now says it as contagious as chickenpox and has a longer transmission window than the original virus. The CDC updated its guidance this week to recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in places with high rates of transmission. More on the variant below.
| | CDC warns delta is as contagious as chickenpox, may make people sicker | The CDC warned that the delta variant sweeping across the country is as contagious as chickenpox, has a longer transmission window than the original Covid-19 strain and may make older people sicker, even if they've been fully vaccinated. The warning was made in a confidential document that was reviewed by CNBC and authenticated by the federal health agency. "The war has changed," CDC officials wrote, adding the variant is more transmissible than the common cold, the 1918 Spanish flu, smallpox, Ebola, MERS and SARS. The data the CDC cites was the basis for the agency changing its masks guidelines this week.
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | | | CDC changes mask guidelines after finding vaccinated can transmit delta | While emphasizing the vast majority of Covid's spread comes from the unvaccinated, new data cited by the CDC shows some who are fully vaccinated can pass it others as easily as unvaccinated people. That was the basis for the agency's updated mask guidance, suggesting everyone – regardless of vaccination status – wear masks indoors in areas of substantial and high transmission. Given how quickly delta is spreading, that's almost two-thirds of the counties in the U.S. While the agency was criticized for reversing guidance it gave just more than two months ago, Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky pointed out delta behaves differently from alpha, which was the dominant variant in early May.
-Meg Tirrell | | | | Top U.S. doctors say kids need masks and social distancing in schools this fall | Top U.S. doctors urged schools to enforce mask and social distancing rules this fall. The Infectious Diseases Society of America came as the CDC announced new indoor mask guidelines for fully vaccinated people on Tuesday. The guidance calls for masks and social distancing for teachers, staff and visitors in schools K-12.
-Rich Mendez | | | | U.S. vaccine rates rise as Americans in hard-hit states rush to get shots | The pace of U.S. vaccinations is rising again as the delta variant drives a new surge in cases across the U.S., with many of the largest increases in the pace of daily shots coming in states with low vaccination rates and worsening outbreaks. An average of about 390,000 first doses were administered every day over the past seven days as of Thursday, according to the CDC, up 31% from a week ago. The pace of daily shots remains far from peak levels, when more than 3 million daily vaccinations, counting both doses, were being reported in mid-April. But the upward trend in first doses is encouraging, public officials say.
-Nate Rattner | | | | Fully vaccinated U.S. and EU citizens no longer have to quarantine when traveling to England | U.S. and EU travelers who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will soon be allowed to visit England without having to quarantine, the U.K. government announced. The measure comes after the U.K. government on July 19 also removed quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated English residents if they had visited so-called amber list countries with less severe Covid-19 situations. The Biden administration said it would maintain travel restrictions, including a ban on most non-U.S. citizens from entering the U.S. from Britain, due to the rapid spread of the delta variant.
-Silvia Amaro | | | | WHO doesn't recommend Covid booster doses right now, citing lack of data | The World Health Organization doesn't recommend Covid booster shots "at this time," citing a lack of data on their effectiveness. Dr. Kate O'Brien, the WHO's director of immunization, vaccines, and biologicals, said Wednesday that the organization is still researching whether a booster shot is needed to increase protection. If the WHO endorsed a booster shot, O'Brien said it would likely only be for select groups of residents, like the elderly.
-Robert Towey | | | | Americans are 'mixing and matching' vaccines over concerns about delta | Even though the WHO doesn't recommend booster shots, some Americans say they are finding ways to get additional doses of the vaccines, with some even going as far as receiving the extra shots from different companies. The thought is that by "mixing and matching" vaccines that use different platforms, people may be able to get broader protection against the coronavirus and its new variants. Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Georgetown University, received a booster shot of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine in late June, two months after she got J&J's single dose. Rasmussen got the Pfizer shot because she was concerned about delta and studies at the time suggested a single dose of a vaccine wouldn't be enough protection.
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | |
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