now what will Scotty do........
a ... pray to his God for answers
b ... lock down Aust forever
c ... run of and call marshal law
d ... place 1000 police in every city and town
Scientists who studied a big COVID-19 outbreak in the US state of Massachusetts concluded that vaccinated people who got so-called breakthrough infections carried about the same amount of the coronavirus as those who did not get the shots.
Health officials released details of that research, which was key in this week's decision by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend that vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the US where the Delta variant is fuelling infection surges.
The authors said the findings suggest that the CDC's mask guidance should be expanded to include the entire country, even outside of hot spots.
The findings have the potential to upend past thinking about how the disease is spread. Previously, vaccinated people who got infected were thought to have low levels of virus and to be unlikely to pass it to others.
But the new data shows that is not the case with the Delta variant.
The outbreak in Provincetown — a seaside tourist spot on Cape Cod in the county with Massachusetts' highest vaccination rate — has so far included more than 900 cases. About three-quarters of them were people who were fully vaccinated.
Travis Dagenais, who was among the many vaccinated people infected, said "throwing caution to the wind" and partying in crowds for long nights over the July Fourth holiday was a mistake in hindsight.
"The dominant public messaging has been that the vaccine means a return to normal," the 35-year-old Boston resident said. "Unfortunately, I've now learned it's a few steps toward normal, not the zero-to-sixty that we seem to have undertaken."
Dagenais credits being vaccinated with easing the worst of the flu-like symptoms in a couple of days. He has recovered.
Like many states, Massachusetts lifted all COVID-19 restrictions in late May, ahead of the traditional Memorial Day start of the summer season. Provincetown this week reinstated an indoor mask requirement for everyone.
Leaked internal documents on breakthrough infections and the Delta variant suggest the CDC may be considering other changes in advice on how the nation fights the coronavirus, such as recommending masks for everyone and requiring vaccines for doctors and other health workers.
