Classrooms, many parents are worried that their children, who are too young to be vaccinated, will contract the virus. So in georgia, that fear has become a reality, just two days after starting their School Year, more than 100 students at one school in atlanta are now in quarantine after nine students and five staffers tested positive. So cnns Natasha Chen is following that story for us. Natasha, you have some Breaking News about what that school is now discussing. What have you learned . Reporter yeah, alisyn, just within the past hour, we got the update with the number of cases, as of this afternoon. As you mentioned, 14 total cases, more than A Hundred students in quarantine. And now, the drew Charter School behind us is discussing possibly having mandatory vaccination for staff. The head of school, peter mcknight, told me that about three quarters of the staff were are already vaccinated, but now theres discussion about whether to make that mandatory for all employees. Now, of the
Transmissible. They have this data showing vaccinated people have viral loads the same as unvaccinated people when they get it. Youre still far less likely to get sick, to be hospitalized and die. Breakthrough infections are not so rare after all. While unvaccinated people are responsible for the vast majority of the spread, vaccinated people can spread it. So its just a new point in the pandemic. The administration changed guidance on masking for vaccinated americans before this information came out. And theres a wonder, well, why did they do that . Wouldnt it be helpful to see the science before the decision . What did you learn . We learned that they were so worried about this data that they felt that they had to get the guidance out even before the data was ready to publish. It should be published today. We should know more about it. There was a lot of frustration from outside scientists and experts saying, if youre saying this is the science youre basing this new recommendation on
And sars. And we now know that the Delta Variant does not just affect the unvaccinated. It is causing breakthrough cases among the vaccinated. This new data shows if you are infected, you can carry the same viral load in your Nose And Throat whether you are vaccinated or unvaccinated. And each infected person on average can infect 8 or 9 others. This Delta Variant causes more severe illness than earlier strains, so here is where being vaccinated really pays off. Vaccines still protect almost 100 against death and still roughly 96 against hospitalization. The cdc director, rochelle walensky, says she is not crying wolf here and other doctors agree. We Cant Pussyfoot around with this thing. We have to get more people vaccinated because this virus is better at its job than the original but its going to take a while to do that, even if were successful, so until then, we have to go back to more universal masking or else this thing is going to spread like wild fire. So we now know the reason
Universal masking or else this thing is going to spread like wild fire. so we now know the reasons for why the cdc is saying, put masks back on. within the past hour, the cdc released new findings on a big covid outbreak among vaccinated and unvaccinated people in provincetown, massachusetts, sparked by july 4th gatherings. so cnn s polo sandoval is in provincetown for us. tell us what you re seeing in the town and how they re reacting. reporter: alisyn, that s key now because now what we know based on this new data release is that the outbreak that was certainly seen here and still to a certain degree, to a lesser degree, being felt here, was part of that evidence that was considered by the cdc when it told the rest of the country that it would be wise to put those masks back on, regardless of vaccination status and that s what we re seeing largely here, folks inside adhering to this new mask mandate that requires people wear those masks while in indoor public spaces here in provi
That they ve been vaccinated and they re doing their part. provincetown is one of the highest vaccinated populations in the country, and i know the doctor before said it was surprising to see the outbreak here in provincetown, amongst the sort of highly vaccinated population. i would say it s not so surprising when you see an influx of tens of thousands of visitors from all around the world just highlighting the importance of vaccinations worldwide. definitely in the country. but if you re planning to travel and you re not vaccinated, please, please don t come to provincetown. we really take our health seriously, and for our local businesses to survive, we need to stay operational. and to stay operational, we need to stay healthy. that s really important message, ken. so, what s the mood like in provincetown right now? i mean, i know it s always so celebratory, but right now, are people approaching with caution?