Yesterday, darkness descended upon humanity as we realized that the light at the end of the tunnel is somehow a mirage in light of the Delta COVID-19 variant.
And that the variant is a lot scarier than it seems.
Of course, that’s not even taking into account the Gamma variant that’s rampaging through Latin America, the Lambda variant that’s ripping through Peru, or the rise of a supercharged version of the Delta variant – the Delta Plus!
CDC Internal Report Says That COVID-19 Delta Variant is As Contagious as Chickenpox
In a leaked internal document from the United States’ Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as published by The Washington Post yesterday, it was revealed that the Delta variant is not only more transmissible than Ebola, the seasonal flu, the 1918 Spanish flu, smallpox, MERS, SARS, or the common cold; it is as transmissible as chickenpox.
That very document prompted the CDC’s rapid reversal in its “no mask needed for the vaccinated” stance, reflecting the alarm caused by the Delta variant among the CDC scientists.
If you’re wondering what is the Delta variant, watch this and learn more about COVID-19 and its mutations:
How Contagious is Chickenpox Exactly?
In the day and age of chickenpox vaccines, it’s easy to forget how contagious chickenpox really is.
So, how contagious IS chickenpox?
According to Johns Hopkins, chickenpox has an R Naught (R0) value of between 9 – 10.
A quick refresher – R0 is a math term *groan math!* that shows how contagious an infectious disease is.
So, to put it simply, the higher the value, the more contagious the disease.
Currently, the Delta variant has an R0 of between 4 and 9.
At the higher end of the spectrum, the Delta variant is definitely very close in value to chickenpox.
On the lower end though, it’s as contagious as smallpox.
That’s not very reassuring either, really.
It’s no wonder the Delta variant is becoming the dominant COVID-19 variant worldwide.
More Sobering Data About the Delta Variant
A recent COVID-19 study done in Massachusetts after the 4th of July celebrations, found that around 75% of its 882 Delta-infected adults were fully vaccinated.
Note that the state has a pretty high vaccination rate of 69% among adults that qualify for the vaccine at that time.
Of course, these adults won’t experience the worse effects of COVID-19 such as serious illnesses, hospitalization or death.
However, it is also discovered that there is no significant difference between the viral load of an infected vaccinated person vs an infected unvaccinated person.
And that viral load is huge.
This means that an infected and vaccinated person can still spread the Delta variant as rapidly as someone who’s unvaccinated.
It completely defeats the purpose of caretakers taking the vaccine in order to care for the elderly or anyone else who is not eligible for the vaccine.
However, does that mean we should stop taking vaccines? No, for there is proof that the current vaccine is ‘highly effective’ against the Delta variant. Watch this video to learn more about vaccines:
Read Also:
- Study Shows 2 Shots of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine is ‘Highly Effective’ Against Delta Variant
- Everything You Need to Know About the Delta Plus COVID-19 Variant
Featured Image: hairul_nizam/ Shutterstock.com
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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