Delta COVID-19 Variant as Contagious as Chickenpox: Report

The Delta variant of COVID-19 appears to cause more severe illness and could be as contagious as chickenpox, the US media reported, citing an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) document.

The report also said that the highly infectious strain was more likely to break through protections provided by the COVID-19 vaccines.

The unpublished data shows fully vaccinated people might spread the Delta variant at the same rate as unvaccinated people, CNN reported.

This prompted the CDC to reverse its guidelines on masking for fully vaccinated Americans, the report added.

Findings of CDC on Delta COVID-19 Variant:

• It is as contagious as chickenpox

• It is likely to cause breakthrough infections

• Infected people carry enormous amounts of virus in their nose and throat

• Vaccinated people are safer against severe illness

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky confirmed the authenticity of the document, and said that this is "serious," according to CNN.

The Delta variant is "one of the most transmissible viruses we know about. Measles, chickenpox, this -- they're all up there," she was quoted as saying.

The new study has found the vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant carried tremendous amounts of the virus in the nose and throat, Walensky told the The New York Times.

Delta Variant: Each Infected Person Can Infect 8-9 Others

The CDC says that the Delta variant is as transmissible as chickenpox, adding that each infected person can infect eight or nine others.

The original lineage was as infectious as the common cold, with each infected person passing on the virus to two other people on average.

However, the document says that vaccinated people are safer against severe disease, although it may be less effective at preventing infection or transmission.

Thus, there may be more breakthrough infections and community transmissions.

The document says vaccines reduce the risk of severe disease or death 10-fold and reduce the risk of infection three-fold, according to CNN.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 was first identified in India last October and led to devastating second of coronavirus. It has now spread to over 100 countries.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the contagious variant already accounts for more than three-quarters of sequenced specimens in many countries.

(With inputs from CNN & The New York Times)