STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The emergence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) Delta variant has resulted in numerous outbreaks across the globe, leaving some to wonder if the existing vaccines offer the same level of protection against the new variant as they do against other forms of the virus.
Though more research remains to be done, existing coronavirus vaccines have been found to be effective in protecting from the Delta variant, according to leading health experts, but as has been the case from the start, the vaccines do not offer 100% protection.
All three vaccines currently in circulation in the United States -- Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson -- have been found to be overwhelmingly effective in protecting recipients from severe illness and hospitalization, according to an NBCNews report.
While breakthrough infections -- those involving a vaccinated individual -- have been reported, the cases have generally been mild.
“The good news is if you are vaccinated -- and fully vaccinated means two weeks after your last shot -- then there is good evidence that you have a high degree of protection against this virus,” U.S. Surgeon-General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN. “But if you are not vaccinated, then you are in trouble.”
ABOUT THE DELTA VARIANT
The Delta variant is a strain of the coronavirus that has quickly spread across the globe, becoming the predominant cause of infection in various countries.
The Delta variant was first discovered in India in late fall, but has since spread to over 85 countries around the world, including the United States, where it has been discovered in all 50 states.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the Delta variant is more transmissible than other forms of the virus, carrying several mutations that allow it to more easily infect human cells.
“We learned this virus, a variant of COVID, is highly transmissible -- the most transmissible we’ve seen to date,” Murthy told CNN.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has estimated that the Delta variant is about 40% to 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which was already more transmissible than the initial virus.
“Delta is the most transmissible of the variants identified so far,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said Friday.
The variant’s increased transmissibility has caused it to spread quickly in the countries in which it has been discovered, with the variant accounting for 99% of U.K. coronavirus cases by mid-June, according to Public Health England.
“Here in the U.S. it is doing very similar things. It seems to be on its way to becoming the dominant lineage in the U.S.,” Andrew Pekosz, a professor of immunology and molecular microbiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told CNN.
The Delta variant has been identified in all 50 states, accounting for 26% of all new U.S. coronavirus cases by mid-June, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While the variant has been found to be more highly-transmissible, it’s currently unclear as to whether the variant is any more virulent, meaning whether it causes more severe illness, according to a recent CNN report.
The defining mutations associated with the variant indicate increased transmissibility, but not necessarily increased virulence, experts say.
However, a Scottish study published earlier this month found that the risk of hospitalization for Delta variant patients was nearly twice as high as those diagnosed with the Alpha variant.
Can you get the Delta variant if you’re vaccinated? - SILive.com
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment