The Race Against Delta

by Parveen Kaur | Jul 26, 2021 | Blog | 0 comments

An Update on Delta

In our last blog post, we discussed the adaptability of the coronavirus and its ability to persist via variants and mutations. In the few weeks that have passed since that last blog post, the coronavirus, particularly the Delta variant, has provided evidence of this fact. The Delta variant now makes up 83% of new coronavirus cases in the United States, a dramatic increase as cases are up 50% since the week of July 3rd. The Delta variant is transmissible to an unprecedented extent—it is said to be up to twice as infectious as other variants of the coronavirus. However, the good news is that unlike last year we now have a vaccine that can significantly help reduce the number of infections. The bad news is that even though we have a vaccine, vaccination rates have stalled.

Although the United States has vaccines available, there are still a large number of people who do not want to get vaccinated. Recent data trends show that areas where vaccination rates are low, hospitalizations and deaths are rising. The average in new daily cases is already up 66% from last week and 145% from two weeks ago.

The Rise in Cases

Last time U.S. hospitalization rates were this high was in April.

The variant itself was first identified in India in December. Though the country has been the largest contributor of new infections globally, India has been able to stabilize the rate of infection by the Delta variant in recent weeks. For instance, daily new cases were upwards of 400,000 (a great portion of these infections caused by the Delta variant) in mid-May, while daily new cases have been floating around 30,000-40,000 throughout July. While nearly 416,000 vaccines have been administered amongst the nation’s dense population, there is still a long road ahead for India’s ~1.3 billion population before they are able to end their fight against the coronavirus. It is for this reason that India has become one of the top priority countries for TVP Health to manufacture and distribute our EUA-approved AIRA ventilators. Although vaccines are being distributed across India, the rate at which this distribution is occurring is not fast enough to assume that an increase in hospitalization rates in the country isn’t a possibility.

Other countries saw the Delta variant spread relatively fast, such as the United Kingdom, where Delta is responsible for up to 99% percent of new cases in the country. The recent spread of the Delta variant caused the number of COVID-19 cases per day to eclipse 50,000 in the country just last week, something which hasn’t been seen since January. Due to these spikes across the Atlantic, the CDC urged American citizens to forget about any travel plans to the United Kingdom unless absolutely necessary. However, this is not to say that the United States isn’t facing similar threats posed by the Delta variant.

In the U.S., the Delta variant has already been identified in all 50 states and has become the dominant variant in the country. The variant, which was first identified in the United States in March, is 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant according to recent research. Fortunately, the vaccine helps to protect against the variant – 99.5% of people who have died from COVID-19 since January had not been vaccinated. It is also clear that areas with low vaccination rates will see a surge in cases. Missouri (which has a vaccination rate of 40.26%) has seen coronavirus cases double in the past 2 weeks. On the other hand, Vermont (which has a vaccination rate of 67.70%) only reported 32 new cases by July 12th. Vermont currently has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country.

The United States has administered more than 336 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine. Around 160 million people have received their two doses. This means that 56.6% of the United States population has been fully vaccinated (half of the U.S. population over the age of 12). Research is limited at the moment, but the most recent studies suggest that the vaccine is effective against the Delta variant.

Are Vaccines Effective Against the Delta?

Pfizer-BioNTech

Estimated to be 64-96 percent effective against the Delta variant. The company is currently working on a third dose of their COVID-19 vaccine which will act as a booster against the Delta variant. The Israeli Ministry of Health revealed new data showing decline in the effectiveness of the original vaccine after 6 months. This has caused Pfizer and BioNTech to create this new booster shot.

Moderna

One study estimates 72 percent effectiveness from one dose. However, other studies have suggested that it offers similar protection as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Johnson and Johnson

The J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine was 66.3% effective in clinical trials at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in people who received the vaccine and had no evidence of being previously infected. However, more studies are needed to reach a definitive answer.”

The Pandemic of Misinformation

President Biden has recently highlighted that social-media companies are spreading misinformation around Covid-19 vaccines. Biden specifically stated that “they’re killing people,” claiming that misinformation leads to people not getting the vaccine which can ultimately cause them to end up in the hospital. The Biden administration is currently concerned about the decline in vaccination and the rampant spread of the Delta. One of the circulated claims on Facebook was that the vaccine causes infertility. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention says there is no evidence that the Covid-19 vaccine causes infertility in men or women. Other posts claimed that the vaccine alters people’s DNA, and that the vaccine has microchips. Facebook also quickly responded to these claims by saying that Mr. Biden’s claims are not supported. Kevin McAlister who is the spokesman for Facebook stated that 3.3 million Americans have used Facebook to find where they can get a vaccine. McAlister also said Facebook is removing COVID misinformation and that facts show Facebook is helping save lives.

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