What is the Delta Variant and how does it compare to the original COVID-19?
The Delta Variant is a new strain of the virus that’s taking over the country, according to recent studies.
While the original strain of COVID-19 has been much more active in Texas, there’s been a recent spike in cases of Delta Variant COVID-19 texas Houston being reported. It’s worth noting that this new strain is very different from the original.
This so-called Delta variant, which is also known as B.1.617.2, was identified in India in December 2020
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Episode #44 -Delta variant and vaccines
Do the current batch of approved vaccines protect us from the Delta variant? What is the level of protection? If you can still get infected even after being fully vaccinated, then why should we vaccinate? WHO’s Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan explains in Science in 5.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan
So we’re talking here about the Delta variant, which is the fourth variant of concern described by WHO because it’s both more transmissible than the previous variant and also has been able to resist the antibodies that we have in our blood. So what that means is that you need a higher level of antibodies to overcome this variant as compared to, let’s say, the Alpha variant. Now, the good news is that all of the WHO emergency use listed vaccines do protect against developing severe disease, hospitalization and death due to the Delta variant.
So there are studies now from countries where there is a predominance of Delta variant to show that people who’ve been vaccinated are much less likely to end up in hospital. And you need the full course of vaccination in order to give you that full immunity to protect you against the Delta variant. So the important thing is if you have access to a vaccine that’s approved by WHO, please do take it and take the full course so that you can be protected both against the Delta and other variants of COVID.
