“The war has changed” because of the delta variant

New evidence showing the delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and may be more dangerous than other versions has prompted U.S. health officials to consider changing their advice on how the nation is fighting the coronavirus, documents show internal.

The CDC news comes as Louisiana experiences an exponential increase in COVID-19 cases and Governor John Bel Edwards is expected to make an announcement regarding the virus at 3 p.m.

Recommending masks for everyone and requiring vaccines for doctors and other health workers are among the measures being considered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to internal documents obtained by the Washington Post.

The documents appear to be talking points CDC staff can use to explain the dangers of the delta variant and “breakthrough” infections that can occur after vaccination. Noted under communications: “Recognize that the war has changed.

In recommending that vaccinated people resume wearing masks indoors in virus hot spots, the CDC said this week that new evidence shows that breakthrough infections can be as transmissible as those in unvaccinated people. They cited a recent large outbreak among those vaccinated in the town of Cape Cod in Provincetown, Massachusetts, among others, for change.

The CDC notes that COVID-19 vaccines are still very effective in preventing serious illness and death. The CDC says it always expected groundbreaking infections but struggled to explain them to the public.

The documents point out that the delta variant, first detected in India, causes infections more contagious than colds, flu, smallpox and Ebola virus, and is as contagious as highly contagious chickenpox.

Internal documents also cite studies from Canada, Singapore and Scotland showing that the delta variant may have a higher risk of hospitalization, intensive care and death than the alpha variant, first detected in the UK. United.