Three-quarters of people who contracted Coronavirus at public places in a Massachusetts county have been fully vaccinated, reveals a new study conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Issued on Friday, the study implied that the Delta variant of the Covid virus was highly virulent.
The eruption of cases that emerged in Provincetown on Cape Cod, said the Barnstable County health authorities.
The CDC study further stated that the presence of the virus in vaccinated persons was similar to that of those who are unvaccinated, citing that contrary to the other variants, vaccinated individuals who are infected with the Delta variant, could transfer the virus just like the unvaccinated individuals, the CDC study noted.
Calling the study a "pivotal discovery", CDC Director Rochelle Walensky recommended the CDC's instructions calling the importance of wearing masks in areas where Covid cases were on rising as a precautionary measure against the possible transmission of the virus by fully vaccinated people.
Walensky said: “The masking recommendation was updated to ensure the vaccinated public would not unknowingly transmit the virus to others, including their unvaccinated or immunocompromised loved ones."
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Around 469 cases were discovered among Massachusetts residents from July 3 to 26, which showed the CDC study which is related to the Cape Cod outbreak. Out of these, 74% were fully vaccinated people. The CDC said its study eliminated residents of 22 other states. Barnstable County reported that on July 30, about 934 total cases of Covid were related to the recent outbreak.
Altogether about 79% of vaccinated persons who were infected with Coronavirus had repeated symptoms such as cough, headache, sore throat and fever, while four patients were hospitalised, the said CDC study.
These vaccinated individuals had been given shots of one of the three available vaccines by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, Moderna Inc or Johnson & Johnson, the data showed.
The study authors suggested the health authorities consider adapting face masks in indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status or the number of cases in the community.
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People who reported having Covid infection were from densely packed indoor and outdoor events including bars, restaurants, guest houses and rental homes, said the CDC.