SergeyChayko/iStock(NEW YORK) The summer surge of COVID-19, fueled by the delta variant, raised alarm bells among scientists and citizens alike that unlike prior variants of the virus, this one was different. Those fears solidified in July, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts, among mostly vaccinated people. This early data hinted, alarmingly, that the delta variant could be equally likely to spread among the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. Prior to the emergence of the delta variant, the risk of spreading the virus while vaccinated appeared to be so low the CDC said it was safe for vaccinated people to ditch their masks. But CDC Director Rochelle Walensky described the Provincetown findings as "concerning," and she promptly reversed the agency's mask guidelines for vaccinated people, prompting renewed fear and uncertainty about the efficacy of vaccines against variants. "I think the people who a
Amid a nationwide campaign to promote COVID-19 booster shots, scientists say the original vaccines are still holding up remarkably well for most people.