As some states report marked upticks in COVID-19 infections while the delta variant becomes the most common strain in the U.S., public health experts

Top health expert says vaccinated people are spreading delta variant

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2021-07-17 17:00:04

As some states report marked upticks in COVID-19 infections while the delta variant becomes the most common strain in the U.S., public health experts are encouraging further vaccinations to help curb transmission.

Speaking to Insider, Christopher Murray, the director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said that not testing vaccinated people — as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends — may be overlooking some transmission.

"We actually have states where hospitalizations are going up more than cases," Murray said, adding that "we're probably missing a bunch of transmission in vaccinated individuals."

National data notes that more than 30 states continue to see rises in the number of COVID-19 infections. Experts attribute this to gaps in vaccinations and the rise of the contagious delta variant.

While vaccines are beneficial in preventing severe infections, contracting the virus and transmitting COVID-19, vaccinated individuals are never completely protected against COVID-19. Breakthrough infections are possible, and the delta infectivity rate is still very high.