Nearly everyone infected with COVID-19 at CDC event was vaccinated: agency survey

Nearly all attendees infected with COVID-19 at an event by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were vaccinated, according to a survey the agency conducted. 

In April, about 1,800 CDC staffers and others attended a CDC conference in a hotel in Atlanta, Ga., where the agency is headquartered, for a conference about epidemiological investigations and strategies, The Epoch Times reported. 

On the last day of the conference, April 27, several attendees notified the event organizers that they had tested positive for COVID. The CDC, along with the Georgia Department of Public Health, surveyed attendees to determine how many tested positive. 

In a statement on Friday, the CDC said, “The goals were to learn more about transmission that occurred and add to our understanding as we transition to the next phase of COVID-19 surveillance and response.” 

About 80% of attendees completed the survey, which is approximately 1,440 people. Of the respondents, 181 said they tested positive for COVID. A total of 99.4% of respondents had received at least one COVID vaccine dose. 

There was no disclosure of how many unvaccinated people, if any, were infected with COVID. 

Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, tweeted an article about the CDC’s findings from the event on Saturday, saying, “When a recent CDC conference is a superspreader event.”