CDC didn’t say vaccinated people are likelier to get the new COVID-19 variant than unvaccinated

Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently suggest that people who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 will fare better against the new variant than people who are vaccinated? 

According to some misleading social media posts: Yes. 

According to the CDC: No.

"BREAKING: CDC says new COVID variant is more contagious among vaccinated people than those unvaccinated," reads what looks like a screenshot of an Aug. 25 tweet.

An Instagram post sharing this image was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

We couldn’t find the X post on the account named in the image, meaning the post was deleted or the image was doctored. But plenty of other accounts have shared the same claim. 

On Aug. 23, the CDC posted a risk assessment summary for the new COVID-19 variant, BA.2.86. In the summary, the CDC said variations in the virus can change how contagious the virus is, how well it responds to treatment and how severely it affects people. 

"Based on what CDC knows now, existing tests used to detect and medications used to treat COVID-19 appear to be effective with this variant," the agency said. 

But, the agency added, this variant may also be "more capable of causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received COVID-19 vaccines." 

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A forthcoming updated vaccine is expected to "be effective at reducing severe disease and hospitalization," according to the CDC, which continues to recommend people get vaccinated against COVID-19.

That doesn’t mean the CDC thinks unvaccinated people are less likely to be infected by the new variant by unvaccinated people. 

In response to PolitiFact’s questions about the claim, the CDC sent a statement that said it’s still determining how transmissible this variant is compared with other variants. 

"Vaccination remains the safest strategy for avoiding hospitalizations, long-term health outcomes and death," the statement said. "COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting people from getting severely ill, being hospitalized and dying."

We rate this post False.