CDC study shows 74 percent of people infected with new Covid variant in Massachusetts were fully vaccinated

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that three-quarters of people infected in the Massachusetts Covid-19 outbreak were fully vaccinated, with four of them getting hospitalized. 

The data, which was published on Friday was based off 469 infection cases following multiple summer events and large gatherings that held in July in Barnstable County, Massachusetts. According to NBC news the events were held in Provincetown. Out of the total cases, 74 percent of those cases were found to be people who had received either one- or two-dose course of the mRNA vaccines shots of Johnson & Johnson's. Also, out of the five patients that were hospitalized four were reported to be fully vaccinated.

Another data published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality weekly Report showed that fully vaccinated people are likely to get infected and carry as much infection in their nose as unvaccinated people, and could as well spread the virus to other people.

"The finding is concerning and was a pivotal discovery leading to CDC's updated mask recommendation," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director, in a statement. "The masking recommendation was updated to ensure the vaccinated public would not unknowingly transmit virus to others, including their vaccinated or immunocompromised loved ones."

The CDC on Tuesday reversed its stance on fully vaccinated people who live in Covid hotspot areas, asking them to resume wearing makers indoors. The CDC guidelines cover about two-thirds of the U.S. population, according to CNBC.

The study published on a Friday revealed that the Delta variant of the virus was highly contagious as it continues to hit unvaccinated people the hardest. It also showed that some vaccinated people could likely be carrying higher levels of the virus more than some unvaccinated people. Walensky told reporters on a Tuesday that the variant behaves "uniquely differently from past strains of the virus." 

The CDC report warns that the delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and is sweeping across the country. It also has a longer transmission window than the original Covid19 strain, and older people are more prone to it even if they have been vaccinated. 

The delta variant is now in at least 131 countries, and the dominant variant in the United States. It is said to be more contagious and transmissible than the 1918 Spanish flu, Ebola, Smallpox, MERS, SARS, and even common cold.

The authors of the study recommended local health authorities to strongly consider using mask indoors, especially in public settings regardless of their vaccination status.