COVID-19 Delta variant is on the rise as we head to herd immunity in the United States. The Delta variant is a variation of COVID-19 that originated in India (B.1.67.2), spread to dominance in the United Kingdom, and now it’s near dominant in the United States.
This Delta variant is more transmissible, which means that it can spread more easily than any other type of COVID-19 virus. However, we are not yet seeing that it is more deadly, perhaps due to the fact that younger people are getting the Delta variant than people older than 50 years old. Keep in mind we don’t know a lot about this virus. Some experts have observed that the vaccines might decline effectiveness at approximately between 6-8 months.
Most people think that the pandemic is over and we are on our way to normalcy. This is not far from the truth, but we are not there yet. According to the World Health Organization, there are four variants of concern. At this time, the Delta variant is the most pressing. Don’t take my word for it, look at the cases and deaths over the last seven days all over the world. COVID-19 Delta variant has fueled the rise in cases and deaths. Approximately 58% of all new infections in the United States are due to the Delta variant and the cases are highest in the unvaccinated.
With the Delta variant, even the fully vaccinated could spread the Delta variant because of the high amounts of the virus that is in your nasal passage early on, The vaccine is less likely to give the same protection against the Delta variant as the previous variant.
Delta Variant
Delta variant can spread more easily, but it has not been seen to be more deadly, yet. The symptoms are different than the original variant. People are less likely to have a fever and cough. Now, young people between the ages of 12-50 are likely to be infected since they are not vaccinated against the virus.
Two vaccines are protected against the Delta variant. However, younger people are more likely to be infected. Unvaccinated people will continue to put us at risk for new variants and some experts say that this is not the only factor for the mutations. Of note, most people who have had a severe case of COVID-19 and have died are patients who are not vaccinated. When you consider the numbers in the US, approximately 260 million people have either been infected with SARS COVID 2 (COVID-19) or have been vaccinated out of our population of 330 million people.
Delta Variant & Covid-19 Vaccinces
Nevertheless, take a look at how far we have come over the last year. Last year on July 4th, we were on lockdown in the United States and other parts of the world. What has changed our way of life? You know, it’s the successful COVID-19 vaccination programs around the world.
The COVID-19 vaccines are not mandatory, but they are recommended by key political head leaders, Center’s for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, and other public health organizations. However, the vaccine hesitantly is real due to real issues that stem from misinformation, disinformation, mistrust, and other disconnects.
There is a push for mandatory vaccines for health care workers across Europe, mainly in France and Greece. However, there are some people who are excising their basic human right to refuse to get the vaccine. In the United States, 45% of Republicans and 2% of Democrats say they will not get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The CDC does not recommend masks for people who are fully vaccinated; however, breakthrough infections are happening at the expected rate according to the CDC. C.A. Bridges at The Palm Beach Post reported that there are 159 million people fully vaccinated in the US and 5,492 breakthrough cases of COVID-19 (0.003%) who had severe disease per the CDC. I looked all over the CDC’s site but could not find the prevalence of breakthrough infection in the fully vaccinated. Use the VAERS system to report any breakthrough infections so perhaps we can track these infections. We could use this information for contact tracing, and to get a more accurate count of the breakthroughs to advise our actions.
Delta Variant & COVID-19
Getting COVID-19 to acquire immunity is not an option if you can help it. In other words, if you are not vaccinated, be sure to protect yourself against COVID-19. Protect yourself at any age but especially at this time if you are between the ages of 13-50 years old because of the Delta variant. The reason I say this is because long COVID is real and young people are coming down with the Delta variant at high rates. Now we know that long COVID can happen to you even if you have mild symptoms of COVID. Nevertheless, some experts are speculating that one dose is sufficient if you have had COVID-19, particularly if you had issues with the first vaccine.
Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
It is likely that you will need a booster shot if you received the Johnson and Johnson shot. One dose of the COVID-19 vaccine would give you approximately 38% of protection against this new variant. At this time, the Center for Disease Control or the World Health Organization has not recommended a booster. So, there is no need for a booster until the researched evidence finds that the COVID-19 vaccines are no longer effective. The WHO does not recommend mixing COVID-19 vaccine brands and called it a dangerous proposition to do so. However, some doctors have had the Pfizer vaccine after the Johnson and Johnson shot, namely Dr. Angela Mu
In addition, just recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that research has shown the Johnson and Johnson vaccine may lead to a rare condition called Guillain Barre. This condition causes reversible muscle weakness and rarely paralysis within a month and a half of being vaccinated. Guillan Barre is most common in men over 50 years of age. One person has dies and 95 people have been hospitalized out of the 100 cases reported.
Conclusion
The Delta variant spreads more easily causing it to become dominant in the US. We cannot allow the pandemic to get out of hand even though it is unlikely that we will get back to 2020 cases and deaths. What can we do? The World Health Organization is trying to articulate what we will need to do to get control over the Delta variant. Time after time there seems to be a new variant popping up around the world. Some experts seem to think that we have not seen the end of the different variants due to the nature of the virus to mutate. Perhaps we need to get back to strict public health measures, would you?
