Why is the world afraid of the Delta variant of the coronavirus? Some answers

08/03/2021 17:53

• Clarín.com

• World

Updated 08/03/2021 17:53

The

delta variant

of the coronavirus is the most contagious mutation so far in the pandemic, but vaccines against the virus that causes Covid-19 still provide strong protection against it.

Almost all COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths occurring today, in countries around the world, were in unvaccinated people.

However, recent research indicates that

those vaccinated can be infected with the delta variant

.

And while they are unlikely to get seriously ill, they can spread it to other people.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mentioned the increased circulation of the delta variant by asking fully vaccinated people to return to wearing chinstraps indoors in areas of the country where there is currently a high rate of infections.

The new guideline helps protect those who are not vaccinated, including children and others who are at high risk of serious illness if they become infected.

Scientists anticipated that some vaccinated people would get sick from Covid-19, but developing mild or no symptoms, since

the vaccines were designed to prevent those vaccinated from becoming seriously ill

.

But they do not prevent contracting the virus.

Posters in English and Spanish with warnings on how to avoid coronavirus infections, in a state building in Atlanta, United States.

Photo: EFE

The CDC no longer publicly accounts for those vaccinated patients, but a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of data from counting states found that they make up a small portion of all Covid-19 infections.

It is not yet clear if the delta variant is capable of making people sicker, but experts say it spreads more easily due to mutations that make it stick better to cells in the human body.

New mutations?

The variant, first detected in India, quickly became the dominant mutation worldwide, including the United States.

Viruses are constantly mutating and most changes are not worrisome, but

scientists are concerned that uncontrolled spread could create more mutations

and produce a variant that is even more contagious, causing people to become more seriously ill, or may evade the protection provided by current vaccines.

That is why experts say it is important that vaccines are accessible globally and stress the importance of completing the vaccination schedule.

More hospitalizations in the United States

Optimism about the effectiveness of vaccines gave rise to alarm in the United States, which is seeing hospitalizations return to last winter levels due to the

expansion of the delta variant

and the stagnation of the immunization campaign against covid-19 .

This Tuesday there were 55,767 patients hospitalized for the disease in US centers, after the 50,000 barrier was surpassed on Monday,

figures not seen since the end of last February

, according to the Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS).

In fact,

the numbers for the last two days are triple those of a month ago

, when there were some 16,000 covid-19 patients admitted to health centers in the United States.

A coronavirus testing center in Manatee County, Florida, United States.

Photo: REUTERS

The data for Monday and Tuesday assume an occupation of more than 7.7% of the total hospital beds in the country, although the situation is uneven depending on the state.

According to the HHS, the place in the United States with the highest percentage of occupation is

Florida

, the current epicenter of the country's pandemic, where more than 25% of the beds are occupied by covid-19 patients.

In fact,

this Tuesday a new record was broken in Florida with 11,515 people hospitalized,

of which 2,400 are in intensive care.

Although the outlook is dramatic in that state, the governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, tried on Tuesday to minimize the rebound in the pandemic and reiterated that

he will not take measures such as ordering the use of masks.

Vaccination stops

Experts attribute this new wave of the pandemic in the United States to the expansion of the delta variant, the stagnation of vaccination and the

reluctance in some areas to adopt preventive measures such

as the use of masks, which became politicized in the country.

So far, at least one dose of the covid vaccine has been applied to more than 191.8 million people in the United States, that is, 57.8% of the population, compared to 164.9 million -the 49.7% - who received the complete scheme.

On Monday, the

United States reached 70% of its adult population with at least one dose

of the vaccine, a month after President Joe Biden's target date.

That is precisely why the White House defends that "the time has come" to

extend the obligations to be vaccinated,

something that the federal government has already done with its employees and is also considering applying it to the Armed Forces.

Source: AP and EFE

CB

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