The Delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox, leaked CDC presentation warns

• An internal CDC document warned that the Delta coronavirus variant can transmit as easily as chickenpox.
• The document said fully vaccinated people who get sick may spread the virus as easily as the unvaccinated.
• But it said vaccines still protect people from severe disease and death.

The Delta coronavirus variant appears to be as contagious as chickenpox, a leaked internal document from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned.

The document, obtained by The Washington Post, also warned that the variant is more transmissible than the viruses that cause MERS, SARS, Ebola, the common cold, the seasonal flu, and smallpox.

The document also said there is early evidence that fully vaccinated people who get sick could spread the virus as easily as unvaccinated people.

But it said that vaccines still protect people from severe disease and death caused by the Delta variant.