(WJW) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to release new information Friday saying the coronavirus delta variant can spread as easily as chickenpox.
The Washington Post confirmed the unpublished data, which shows that fully vaccinated people might spread the delta variant as easily as unvaccinated people. The data also shows the variant causes more severe sickness than others.
According to the article, the data also argues officials must “acknowledge the war has changed.”
U.S. health officials are expected to release the new data that led to their decision to recommend that vaccinated people wear masks in some situations, a reversal of previous guidance.
The report comes from a recent investigation of a coronavirus outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts, according to a federal official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the plan.
Earlier this week, the CDC changed its masking guidelines, recommending that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the delta variant of the coronavirus is fueling surges in new cases.
Citing new – but unreleased — information about the variant’s ability to spread among vaccinated people, the CDC also recommended indoor masks for all teachers, staff, students and visitors at schools nationwide, regardless of vaccination status.