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Several front-line workers at Tampa General Hospital expressed to ABC News their deep concern and fear about the next several weeks for their teams, given the state's and the hospital's exponential increase in infections and virus-related hospitalizations, stressing that their message to Americans is that vaccinations are key to controlling the pandemic and ending the suffering.
The difference in getting vaccinated, or not getting vaccinated is ultimately akin to "the difference between having a cold and dying," said Wein. "If a vaccinated patient gets this, they're most likely going to be just fine, and not going to end up in the hospital. Unfortunately, the unvaccinated person has a really high likelihood that he will end up hospitalized on a ventilator."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a stern warning about the delta variant of the coronavirus: "Acknowledge the war has changed." Now, it says even vaccinated people are able to readily spread the virus.
That is part of the message from a recent internal presentation prepared by the CDC detailing the dangers posed by the delta variant, which has already led to a spike in cases in the United States. The document, obtained Friday by NBC News and first published by The Washington Post, explains the scientific background behind the agency's change in mask guidance earlier this week.
It concludes that the delta variant is ?highly contagious, likely to be more severe? and that ?breakthrough infections may be as transmissible as unvaccinated cases.?
Researchers have been focusing on viral load ? a term for just how much of the virus is present in infected peoples' bodies ? which can affect transmissibility and severity. Infections with the delta variant lead to higher levels of virus in the body, even in breakthrough cases in fully vaccinated individuals, the document said. Virus levels can be as high in breakthrough cases as in unvaccinated people, even if vaccinated people don't get nearly as sick.
What's more, these higher levels also persist for longer than was seen with previous strains, meaning an infected person is likely contagious for longer.
Still, outbreaks are occurring mostly among unvaccinated individuals, according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
?I think we still largely are in a pandemic of the unvaccinated,? Walensky said Tuesday in a press briefing to announce updated guidance on wearing masks. ?The vast majority of transmission, the vast majority of severe disease, hospitalization and death is almost exclusively happening among unvaccinated people.?
Vaccines continue to be effective, particularly at preventing severe disease, according to the document. But they may not be as good at preventing infection or transmission of the delta variant.
That's a change from previous variants. The vaccines were very effective at preventing transmission of the alpha variant, which was the dominant strain in the country earlier this year when the CDC first said that vaccinated people do not need to wear masks.
"Therefore, more breakthrough and more community spread despite vaccination," the document states.
But breakthrough infections are expected, particularly as the virus changes and the pandemic evolves, said Gigi Gronvall, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Gronvall said the CDC document provides more evidence that even as breakthrough infections are occurring, the vaccines remain highly effective.
?The vaccine is not a force field that stops any virus from crossing your path,? she said. ?It's an education program for your immune system so that if you do have an intruder, a virus that infects you, your immune system is ready to pounce.?
Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, tweeted Thursday night that the CDC presentation was "insightful & largely reassuring," emphasizing that the data shows the delta variant is highly contagious but the vaccines continue to prevent most infections and almost all hospitalizations.
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