. >>> the news at i'm terry m janelle wang. a stunning cdc report has top health leaders even more concerned about the delta variant. the cdc said the variant is more contagious than the virus that cause ebola, the common cold, flu and smallpox and it is just as contagious as chicken pox. even more troubling, the report said there is a higher risk of hospitalization or even death in older americans regardless of vaccination status. and all that is the reason that the cdc is changing its masking recommendation. earlier this week, and now telling everyone vaccinated or not to mask up. >> here is how the cdc came to these conclusions. the report stems from a study in a county in massachusetts where there were 469 cases that were linked to several large public gatherings this month. cdc said 74% of the cases were in fully vaccinated people. nearly 80% of those had symptoms. in a statement the cdc said high viral loads suggest an increase risk of trans mission and raise concern that unlike with other variants, vaccinated people infe