Delta Variant: How Effective are The Vaccines?

Panic over the delta variant of the coronavirus is growing around the world. Concerns have also been raised about the effectiveness of the vaccines of Covid-19. Research says that since vaccines are not 100% effective, many infected with different variants need to be hospitalized after vaccination. Even many people who have been vaccinated, especially those who have taken only one dose, would die.

The virus naturally changes over time, with SARS-CoV-2 being no exception. When the virus was first identified in early 2020, it has undergone thousands of mutations.

The mutated virus that is created in this way through mutations is called a variant. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), most mutations have little or no effect on the original structure of the virus. It also became extinct over time. But some mutations occur in ways that help the virus survive and reproduce.

Experts around the world are closely monitoring how SARS-CoV-2 is changing so that governments can take action if any major changes are caught.

What are the main variants?

Experts are mainly concerned with the four variants. Alpha (first caught in the UK), Beta (South Africa), Gamma (Brazil) and Delta (India).

The World Health Organization has identified these four variants as worrisome, as they are considered to be more of a threat to public health. For example, these viruses are more contagious, the infected person may become more seriously ill, and the virus may become more vaccine-resistant.

Apart from this, some other variants have been identified, which the scientists are keeping a close eye on, as the virus has been found in some areas of more than one country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to name these variants in the Greek alphabet, in order to avoid the misconception that the variants are linked to the countries where they were caught.

What is a delta variant?

More attention has been paid to the Delta variant in recent times, as it is considered to be a much bigger threat to public health than previous variants.

First, it is 80 percent more contagious than the alpha variant. And the alpha variant is 50 percent more contagious than the first coronavirus.

The Delta variant caused the second wave of deadly coronaviruses in India in April and May. Since then it has also spread the most in the UK.

This variant has been caught in more than 90 countries of the world. The infection has spread to the United States, China, Africa, Scandinavia and Pacific countries.

Data from the UK show that those who have not been vaccinated are more than twice as likely to be hospitalized with a serious illness as those with the alpha variant.

 Symptoms of delta variant

The study also found that symptoms similar to those of earlier types of coronavirus were different in the case of the delta variant. According to the UK's National Health Service, the main symptoms of Covid-19 are persistent cough, fever, and loss of taste or smell.

But Professor Tim Specter, who conducted research on the symptoms of Covid-19 with an app, says that while delta variant sufferers have a fever, there is no loss of taste or smell in the first ten symptoms of this variant. Rather those in the UK who have been affected by this variant are referring to headaches, sore throats and colds.

"As a result, it feels like a bad cold to young people who are being affected by the delta," said Professor Specter. The danger is that they do not understand. They think it is a common cold and are spreading the disease to more people.

 What about the Delta Plus and Lambda variants?

On June 23, India identified another variant called Delta Plus, which they said was a cause for concern. Public Health England described it as a variant similar to the first Delta. Another mutation (K417N) in the spike protein of the Delta variant can cause this new strain to attach itself to the infected cell.

The Delta Plus variant has been found in nine more countries - the United States, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, Russia and China.

According to the Indian Ministry of Health, Delta Plus is very easy to spread, can easily attach to lung cells, and a drug called monoclonal antibody therapy does not work against it. However, leading virologists say that there is not enough information to reach such a conclusion. That is why the World Health Organization has not yet identified it as a separate variant.

But the World Health Organization recently added the Lambda variant to their list. This variant has been seen in several countries, especially in South America and the Andes region (Peru, Chile, Argentina and Ecuador).

The variant has been identified in 29 countries, according to an agency that shares information on avian influenza.

Scientists have identified the new species as Pablo Sukayama, a microbiologist at the University of Cayetano Heredia in Peru. He told the BBC that Lambda could be much more contagious because it was the only explanation for how it spread so quickly. And the fact that it is much more contagious means that more people will be hospitalized, more deaths will occur.

Professor Sukayama said the evidence from the victims suggests that variants may have abdominal pain, but there is little evidence that it is much more vaccine-resistant. The World Health Organization says more research is needed to determine the full extent of the effects.

What vaccines are working against these variants?

The good news, however, is that research is showing that the vaccines available against SARS-CoV-2 are working now. However, as effective as these vaccines were against the original variants of coronavirus, they were somewhat less effective in the case of newer variants. Especially for those who have only received the first dose of the vaccine.

A study by Public Health England found that a single dose of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine provided only 33 percent protection against the Delta variant and 50 percent protection against the alpha variant. However, for those who have taken both doses, Pfizer has 88 percent protection and AstraZeneca has 60 percent protection.

A separate study from Oxford University found that Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines work against the Delta and Kappa variants found in India.

In so many articles published in the journal Cell, the researchers said there was no evidence that the vaccine was widely effective. Which indicates that the current generation of vaccines are working.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that since these vaccines are not 100% effective, many infected with different variants will need to be hospitalized. Even many people who have been vaccinated, especially those who have taken only one dose, will die.

According to the CDC, 144 million people in the United States have received all doses of the vaccine as of June 14. However, even after vaccination, 3,729 of them became infected and 671 died.

What is the way to fight against the new variant?

After the rapid spread of the Delta variant in the UK, the time between the first and second doses of the vaccine was reduced in the elderly in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Those over the age of 40 can now make an appointment for a second dose six weeks after the first dose. Earlier, there was an interval of 12 weeks between the two doses. And now vaccinations are also being given on weekly holidays. But the pace of vaccination activities in low- and middle-income countries has been quite challenging.

For example, according to the scientific publication Our World, less than 4% of the total population in India has been fully vaccinated. Only 14 percent received their first dose.

That's why experts in India are focusing on monitoring the virus through periodic DNA analysis to identify genetic mutations. Others are focusing on measures to reduce the rate of infection. They say this pandemic needs to be tackled in the long run.

Epidemiologist said. Lalit Kanth said, "We need to intensify our efforts to identify new dangerous variants and take steps to prevent their spread in the first place."

Everything is being opened in India and said. Kanth thinks a third push of the coronavirus is inevitable. But with steps like genetic sequencing, we can delay it, keep it limited. We need to keep an eye on new mutations and strictly follow the rules to keep ourselves safe.

SV Subramanian, a professor at Harvard University's Geographic Insights Lab said no country could come out of the epidemic with vaccines alone. He emphasized the need to focus more on medical and health care, especially on increasing the number of hospital beds, ventilators, oxygen and health workers.

"In my opinion, when this virus is being mutated, we can't win it by fighting it," said Professor Subramanian. But we can make arrangements to assure people that they will get easy and affordable medical care when needed. This is the right time to turn our efforts towards medical and strengthening our healthcare system.