According to the CDC, people who have been vaccinated may have a higher chance of spreading the Delta variant than those who are not. However, vaccines can still prevent severe illness, hospitalizations, and even death. As the Olympics go on, Japan is currently experiencing its worst infection wave to date. New data suggest that the coronavirus could be seeking refuge in American animal reservoirs.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 was not only a problem in Provincetown, Massachusetts. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, nearly three quarters (75%) of all confirmed cases were in fully vaccinated individuals. This outbreak was linked to several large summer gatherings as well as an influx of tourists. It infected at most 469 people, 346 were vaccinated.

According to the CDC, nearly 8 out 10 people who have so-called breakthrough infection had symptoms. The most common symptoms were sore throat, fever, cough, headache and sore throat. Fourteen of these cases were successful in causing hospitalizations (that’s a little over 1%), and there were no deaths. The CDC cited Provincetown’s case study as a major factor in its decision to update its mask guidance. Based on test swabs, both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals had similar levels of virus particles in their noses. This suggests that vaccinated persons may be as susceptible to the Delta variant as the unvaccinated.

The Provincetown outbreak, despite its high virulence, also showed that vaccines are still effective in reducing the severity of illness, preventing hospitalizations, and even preventing deaths.

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“People should feel reassured that if they have been fully vaccinated, they are very likely to be protected against severe and critical illness, which would cause them to become hospitalized or even killed by this virus,” Paul A. Offit, director of vaccine education at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told The Washington Post.

Covax, a UN-backed initiative, was intended to distribute and supply vaccines all over the globe, especially to low-income countries that otherwise would not have access. The program has fallen short of its original targets and the updated goals, which are based on a lack of global supply, are much less ambitious.