The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the delta variant of the coronavirus is as contagious as chickenpox and that infections in vaccinated people may be as transmissible as in the unvaccinated. Internal CDC documents, first obtained by the Washington Post, urged staff to “acknowledge the war has changed” in light of the delta variant.  The CDC said the variant requires a new approach to help the public understand the danger, adding that evidence shows the delta variant may pose a greater risk for hospitalization and death.The agency also emphasized that vaccines are highly effective at preventing infections, severe disease and death. The CDC said that while the vaccinated are less likely to get sick, they might be just as likely as those who are unvaccinated to pass the disease to others. FILE – Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, April 13, 2021.Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said during an interview Friday with Reuters that he hopes regulators will grant full approval for COVID-19 vaccines as soon as next month. He said the move could encourage more Americans to get the shots, which are currently authorized on an emergency-use basis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. U.S. President Joe Biden announced Thursday that civilian federal government employees must be vaccinated or submit to regular testing and wear masks.   A station employee walks by a COVID-19 infection prevention instructions sign at a Tokyo metro station in Tokyo, Japan, July 30, 2021.Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa and Osaka are the new prefectures to be under the state of emergency. Several other prefectures will be placed under pre-emergency measures.   Under a state of emergency, business is suspended in locations that serve alcohol or have karaoke. Under pre-emergency measures, businesses are asked not to serve alcohol. Japan reported more than 10,000 daily coronavirus cases Thursday, the first time the country’s daily count exceeded 10,000.Around the globeIn Israel, health officials began administering coronavirus booster shots Friday to people older than 60 who have been fully vaccinated in an effort to stop a recent spike in cases. German officials announced Friday that unvaccinated travelers arriving in the country will need to present a negative COVID-19 test result.  FILE – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, attends a meeting in Geneva, May 24, 2021.WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference from Geneva on Friday that “hard-won gains are in jeopardy of being lost” because of the delta variant.   WHO officials have said they fear that 47 of Africa’s 54 countries will miss a September target of vaccinating 10% of their populations, a goal set earlier this year by the World Health Assembly, the world’s highest health policy-setting body. Africa accounts for less than 1% of the more than 4 billion vaccine doses administered globally.   Overall, around the globe, just 1.1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one vaccine dose.  The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported Friday more than 197 million global COVID infections and more than 4.2 million deaths from the disease worldwide. Some information for this report came from Reuters and the Associated Press. 
 
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