POP EVIL Singer LEIGH KAKATY Tests Positive For COVID-19; Eight Shows Postponed

BLABBERMOUTH.NET

POP EVIL singer Leigh Kakaty has tested positive for COVID-19 after being vaccinated. The Michigan-based rockers revealed his positive diagnosis in a social media post earlier today. They wrote: "To our Evilz, we always want to be fully transparent with our fans and the status of our shows. All of our band members and crew have been vaccinated prior to us starting tour. Yesterday, and again this morning, Leigh Kakaty tested positive for COVID-19. Leigh wanted to make sure his test wasn't a false positive before postponing any more shows. With his second positive test this afternoon, out of an abundance of caution, we will be postponing our shows and be back for our show in Virginia Beach on August 27. "We are doing our best to move the following shows: Denver, CO (8/15), Des Moines, IA (8/17), Fargo, ND (8/18), Joliet, IL (8/20), Nashville, TN (8/21), Savannah, GA (8/23), Asheville, NC (8/24) and Jacksonville, NC (8/25) to the end of the tour. Leigh is already feeling much better and will be back on his feet in no time. We want to thank everyone for their continued support! See you soon." Yesterday, POP EVIL announced that it was canceling its show Sunday night (August 15) at The Oriental Theater in Denver, Colorado after a member of the band's "team" tested positive for COVID-19. In the past couple of weeks, a number of high-profile hard rock and heavy metal artists — including KORN, IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson, TESLA, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, SHINEDOWN and LIMP BIZKIT — have called off shows or played concerts without members who have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The cancelations and the increased number of COVID-19 infections are driven in large part by the fact that the delta variant of the coronavirus, now the most common strain circulating in the United States, has a supercharged transmissibility, driven in part by how the mutated virus behaves in the body after infection. New variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 illness are spreading in the United States and other countries. Current data suggest that COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States offer protection against most variants. However, some variants might cause illness in some people after they are fully vaccinated. According to Healthline, data so far suggests efficacy rates against the delta variant of more than 67 percent for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 72 to 95 percent for the Moderna vaccine, and 64 to 96 percent for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Even though vaccines offer different ranges of protection, experts say getting fully vaccinated is crucial. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said earlier in the month that while vaccinated people can carry and spread the virus in what is known as "breakthrough infections," people largely driving the current surge were unvaccinated. As the virus spreads, it can mutate and create more dangerous variants. Consequently, "there could be a variant that's lingering out there that can push aside delta," Fauci said.