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stated on August 26, 2023 in an Instagram post:

“CDC says new COVID variant is more contagious among vaccinated people than those unvaccinated.”

By Ciara O'Rourke August 30, 2023

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

If Your Time is short

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said COVID-19 variant may be "more capable of causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received COVID-19 vaccines." But the agency didn’t say vaccinated people are more likely to be infected than unvaccinated people.
Vaccination remains the safest strategy for avoiding hospitalizations, long-term health outcomes and death, according to the CDC.

See the sources for this fact-check

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.)

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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."

Facebook posts

stated on December 5, 2024 in a post

Fox News commentator Dr. Kelly Powers died from “turbo cancer” caused by COVID-19 vaccines.

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.