The new COVID-19 variant namely delta virus is agreed to be the most contagious version of the deadly virus all across the world. It spreads about 225% faster than the original version of the virus. It has been reported that the variant grows more rapidly inside people’s respiratory tracts and to much higher levels.
Moreover, the person is more likely to be infectious sooner after catching Delta variant of the virus. On average, it takes four days to be detectable in human tract as compared to the six days of the original virus.
Findings also suggested that people who have contracted the delta variant are likely spreading the virus earlier in the course of action.
Recently, a study has been conducted on 100 health-care workers at three centers in India, including Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
In a surprising turn of events, the study shows that COVID Vaccine is eight times less sensitive to the antibodies generated by vaccines against COVID-19 as compared to the original strain of the SARS-CoV 2 virus, which was first detected in China’s Wuhan.
This implies that COVID-19 vaccines are eight times less effective for the B.1.617.2 strain or the Delta variant which was first found in India.
The joint research SARS-CoV 2 Delta Variant and Emergence Breakthrough: Collective study was conducted by scientists from India and their counterparts from the Cambridge Institute’s of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious disease.
The study also said that a combination of evasion of neutralizing antibodies in previously infected people and increased virus infectivity resulting in the second wave is behind the overpowering Delta Virus in India. However, it is also found that severe COVID-19 infection in fully vaccinated people is rare.
The study also revealed that the variant B.1.617.2 strain “appears to be more transmissible” than the B.1.617.1 found in the United Kingdom.
However, the paper suggested that large-scale vaccinations will protect from severe disease and also reduce hospitalizations due to the delta variant.
Severe disease and death were found to be “low” in vaccinated people. The Beta variant of the virus is also found to be less effective to the antibodies generated by COVID-19 vaccine as the Delta variant.
