Posted on 07/31/2021 11:08:48 AM PDT by Capt. Tom
Study of area cases says variant leads to ‘increased risk of transmission’
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study regarding the Provincetown COVID-19 outbreak published Friday provides new evidence that vaccinated people are vulnerable to the disease’s highly contagious delta variant.
A key finding in the report is that almost three-quarters of people infected in the Provincetown outbreak were fully vaccinated.
That and other data from the Provincetown outbreak provided evidence that pushed agency scientists to advise that vaccinated people across the country again wear masks in indoor public settings in certain circumstances.
“High viral loads suggest an increased risk of transmission and raised concern that, unlike with other variants, vaccinated people infected with delta can transmit the virus,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement sent to USA TODAY on Friday.
Provincetown has been a busy spot this summer, which contributed to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in July. A U.S. Center for Disease Control study of the Provincetown cases concluded that 74% of people who were infected in the outbreak were fully vaccinated.
Continued from Page 1A
“This finding is concerning and was a pivotal discovery leading to the CDC’s mask recommendation.” Health officials continue to reiterate the majority of COVID-19 transmission occurs among the unvaccinated, not fully vaccinated people. “Vaccinated individuals continue to represent a very small amount of transmission occurring around the country,” Walensky said. “We continue to estimate that the risk of breakthrough infection with symptoms upon exposure to the delta variant is reduced by sevenfold. The reduction is twentyfold for hospitalizations and death.”
What the Provincetown COVID-19 data showed
The CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report detailing the agency’s investigation of the Provincetown outbreak found that 469 Massachusetts residents were infected with COVID-19 after a number of large public gatherings that occurred there between July 3 and 17.
Of those Massachusetts residents infected, 74% were fully vaccinated.
Of the vaccinated people infected, 79% had symptoms including cough, headache, sore throat, muscle pain and fever.
Five people of the 469 people infected were hospitalized, four of whom were fully vaccinated, according to the report. Two of the fully vaccinated people hospitalized had underlying conditions, USA TODAY reported.
No deaths related to the outbreak have been reported.
Delta variant is to blame
The CDC sequenced samples taken from 133 patients and discovered 90% of those infections were caused by the delta variant, which carries 1,000 times the viral load than the original, or wild, COVID-19 virus.
One crucial finding of the CDC study was that vaccinated and unvaccinated people were found to carry similar levels of the virus in their bodies.
The delta variant was first identified in India and is known to be more transmissible than the wild virus, the state Department of Public Health said on previous occasions. Two factors, officials said, are that individuals infected with the delta variant tend to have more virus in their respiratory tract than other variants and infected individuals may carry the virus longer.
The Provincetown data show that the delta variant is highly transmissible, but authors of the CDC report stressed that vaccination remains the most important strategy to prevent severe illness and death.
On Tuesday, the CDC recommended that everyone — regardless of vaccination status — wear masks in indoor public settings in areas where COVID-19 transmission is high or substantial. Barnstable County is currently classified as an area of high transmission.
But findings from the Provincetown investigation suggest that even areas where transmission is not classified as high or substantial should consider expanding public health protections including masking indoors “given the potential risk of infection during attendance at large public gatherings that include travelers from many areas with differing levels of transmission,” authors of the CDC study wrote.
People involved in the cluster said they had attended densely packed indoor and outdoor events at venues including bars, restaurants, guest houses and rental homes, the report said.
On July 3, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health had reported a two-week average COVID- 19 incidence of zero cases per 100,000 people per day in Provincetown. By July 17, the two-week average incidence increased to 177 cases per 100,000 people per day in town, the report stated.
Dr. Pei-Yong Shi, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Texas Medical Branch who has studied vaccines and COVID-19, said the study is significant because it shows the importance of masking while the highly contagious delta variant is circulating.
A Tuesday notice from town and county officials amended what was a public health advisory in town to a public health mandate that requires indoor masking in local businesses.
The notice stated that COVID-19 testing is still being offered at the parking lot of the Veterans Memorial Community Center at 2 Mayflower St. in Provincetown. Testing has been extended through Friday, and is available between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily. Tests are free and appointments are not required.
Vaccines are also available at the site through Friday.
Gov. Charlie Baker encouraged people who have not yet been fully vaccinated to do so. “There are roughly 800 to 1,000 cases that have been identified as part of that (Provincetown) cluster, a very, very, very small number, a very small number, actually ended up getting very sick and being hospitalized,” he said Friday. “That’s because most of those folks were vaccinated and vaccines work.”
Provincetown is working with Barnstable County to procure and distribute 1,200 at-home COVID-19 tests to local businesses, residents and visitors.
Barnstable County Director of Health and Environment Sean O’Brien, who is listed in the acknowledgment section of the CDC report, said that the CDC’s study of the Provincetown data was made possible in part because of local contact tracing conducted by Public Health Nurse Deirdre Arvidson and other Barnstable County staff who provided data to the state DPH.
“Both Deirdre and (Deputy Human Services Director Vaira Harik) were on daily calls with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health going over data,” O’Brien said.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health did not return a request for comment on the findings.
The real message of this is: the government is powerless to help, so they will instead make life worse while they refuse to admit their powerlessness.
The best thing to do is hold off, you can’t get un vaccinated.
One might think they were intentionally over hyped to begin with (99% effective) just so they could move the goalposts down the road.
Probably a lot of immunocompromised people living there. How well does the vaccine work with that issue?
Now they have lifetime immunity , a good thing
I am a regired nurse.. I have a theory that those of us that workedwith “high risk” patients/ inmates ...have developed a strong immune system from years of exposure
The “Vaccinated are vulnerable”.
Translation for those in Rio Linda: The vaccine doesn’t work.
Full discloser: I chose to take the vaccine. So far, so good, but ...
I totally agree with your theory.
Capt.Tom
You make a good point. Population density, whether its recreational or living conditions. I once lived in NYC. People live on top of each other, ride subways shoulder to shoulder,etc. Many other cities are similar. JMHO the virus will be with us for a long time.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.