COVID-19 Delta Variant Cases Doubled In Past Two Weeks
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Cases of the highly contagious delta variant have doubled in the past two weeks, and Dr. Anthony Fauci is calling it the country’s “greatest threat” to defeating the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the White House is acknowledging the nation will not reach its 70 percent vaccination goal by July 4. NBC’s Tom Costello reports for TODAY, in the video published on June 23, 2021, “Delta COVID-19 Variant Cases Doubled In Past Two Weeks“, below:
Dr. Anthony Fauci discusses the vaccination rates around the country and the severity of the delta variant, which could hit the country hard later this year, in the video published on June 22, 2021, “Dr. Anthony Fauci: Delta variant is the greatest threat to eliminating Covid-19“, below:
DELTA Variant COVID and Why It’s Concerning! Delta Variant COVID, aka B.1.617.2, has been spreading across the globe. It will soon be the dominant form in the US. Is it more contagious? Will the vaccines work against it? Is it a deadlier disease with worse symptoms?
In a study done in Scotland, which was published in The Lancet, researchers showed that the risk of being hospitalized with the COVID Delta variant is double that of the alpha variant. Recently the covid delta variant has made its way to the US, constituting 10% of COVID cases. However, that figure is doubling every two weeks, and it’s only a matter of time before it becomes the dominant strain. It makes up about 25% of cases in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming in the Midwest. In a study done in the UK from May 20 to Jun 7th, the researchers, led by Steven Riley, looked at their data, which suggest that the covid delta variant is about 60% more transmissible than the alpha, which was the variant first identified in the UK, which was more contagious than the original strain that originally emerged from Wuhan. Furthermore, they showed a doubling time of 11 days with the delta variant and an estimated R (reproductive) number of 1.44. And those younger than age 50 were 2.5 times more likely to be infected than older people. The data showed that the covid Delta variant’s affinity for the ACE2 receptor was slightly better than the original Wuhan strain. One of the delta’s mutations in its RBD is what allows for this. The virus uses its spike protein to bind to the ACE2 receptor in the body. It’s the key in the lock analogy. The virus then fuses with the cell membrane. This process relies on cleavage. Meaning enzymes on the cell membrane cut the spike protein at two different sites, triggering the cell to engulf the virus. A second delta mutation is in one of these cleavage sites. Better cleavage, better reproduction. Another takeaway from this study is that the authors concluded that the neutralization of both viruses is reduced compared with the original Wuhan strains. Still, there is no evidence of widespread antibody escape. However, they said the data did suggest that those previously infected with COVID may be more susceptible to reinfection by the new delta variant. Also, it looks like monoclonal antibody treatments are ineffective at treating the delta variant. The big concern is “vaccine escape,” meaning that the current vaccines will become far less effective as the virus evolved. So far, it hasn’t happened, but eventually, we will need new covid vaccines for the variants, likely a yearly thing. The good news? Covid Vaccines are still protective against the Delta variant. According to research released by Public Health England: For the Pfizer vaccine, after both doses, it was 88% effective in preventing symptomatic disease, 96% effective at preventing hospitalization. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was 92% effective at preventing hospitalization if they had both shots. If you only get one shot of either of these covid vaccines, the effectiveness is pretty low, around 30-40%. More studies will soon be available when it comes to the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, in the video published on June 21, 2021, “Delta Variant COVID and Why It’s Concerning“, below:
As the world struggles with the Delta variant, the virus has mutated again. At least 9 countries have now detected the “Delta plus” variant, with India reporting around 30 cases of the new mutation. Palki Sharma tells you why this variant has sparked concern, in the video published on June 22, 2021, “Gravitas | Delta Plus variant: The new worry for the world“, below:
In the video published on June 16, 2021, “Why so many Covid-19 variants are showing up now“, below:
COVID-19 community cases have gone up in the past few weeks, with more unlinked cases and larger clusters. New variants like the B1617 are said to be behind this worrying trend. What is this so-called “Double Mutant”, and just how dangerous is it? In this Talking Point forum, host Diana Ser finds out how worried we should be, what we can do to stay safe, and if we will ever see an end to COVID-19 restrictions, in the video published on June 7, 2021, “COVID-19 Delta Variant: Should You Be Worried? | Talking Point | COVID-19 B1617“, below:
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
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