With the increased number of people with Covid-19 infection, the major worry right now is Delta, a highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus strain, which was first identified in India in December, 2020.
Recall that TheNewsBeam reported that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the country’s COVID-19 infections has continued to rise as the total number of cases hits 178, 096, as at August 8, 2021.
According to research, anyone who is unvaccinated and not practicing preventive strategies is at high risk of infection by the new variant. But, people who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus appear to have strong protection against Delta compared to those who aren’t.
Here are five things you need to know about the Delta variant:
1. Delta is more contagious than the other virus strains.
One thing that is unique about Delta is how quickly it is spreading. The first Delta case was identified in December 2020, and the variant soon became the predominant strain of the virus in both India and then Great Britain. By the end of July, Delta was the cause of more than 80% of new U.S. COVID-19 cases, according to CDC estimates.
2. Unvaccinated people are at risk
People who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are most at risk, because people who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus appear to have strong protection against the Delta variant compared to those who aren’t.
3. Delta could lead to ‘hyperlocal outbreaks.
An expert has said that ‘If Delta continues to move fast enough to accelerate the pandemic, the biggest questions will be about the heightened transmissibility—how many people will get the Delta variant and how fast will it spread?
However, in some cases, a low-vaccination town that is surrounded by high vaccination areas could end up with the virus contained within its borders, and the result could be “hyperlocal outbreaks,” the expert says.
4. There is still more to learn about Delta.
One important question is whether the Delta strain will make you sicker than the original virus. But many scientists say they don’t know yet.
Early information about the severity of Delta included in a study from Scotland showed that the Delta variant was about twice as likely as Alpha to result in hospitalization in unvaccinated individuals, but other data has shown no significant difference.
5. Vaccination is the best protection against Delta.
The most important thing you can do to protect yourself from Delta is to get fully vaccinated, the doctors say.
At this point, that means if you get a two-dose vaccine like Pfizer or Moderna, for example, you must get both shots and then wait the recommended two-week period for those shots to take full effect.
Whether or not you are vaccinated, it’s also important to follow CDC prevention guidelines that are available for vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Culled from Yale Medicine
