An Update on Delta
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


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.

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
