Internal CDC presentation warns of new data on Delta variant

Unpublished research indicates that the Delta variant causes more serious illness and spreads as easily as chickenpox, and that people who are vaccinated can transmit the strain as easily as those who are not, according to an internal CDC presentation obtained by WashPost.

Why is this important: The data played a key role in the CDC’s decision to tell those vaccinated to put on the mask indoors, with the presentation calling on health officials to “recognize that the war has changed,” reports The Post.

Enlarge: The document states that vaccines offer substantial protection against serious illness and death, but warns that mild breakthrough cases may be more common than previously thought.

• it stresses the intimidating “communication challenges” this new phase could bring, as the agency seeks to convince a skeptical public of the effectiveness of vaccines while shifting “goals of success in public view,” writes The Post.
• CDC Director Rochelle Walensky briefed members of Congress on much of the data on Thursday, and the agency is expected to release it in full on Friday.

Read the presentation.