A team led by researchers at the University of Oxford investigated the affinity of the B16171 and B16172 delta variants for the receptor-binding domain of the ACE-2 angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE-2 ) that lets the delta invade human cells. The researchers exposed the variants neutralizing antibodies of vaccinated participants and convalescent serums of British COVID-19 patients with pandemic monoclonal antibodies.
Two weeks after receiving a second dose, vaccines from Pfizer and Biontech appeared to offer 79% protection against infection with the delta variant compared to 92% with the alpha variant, the study found. The ability of the Pfizer vaccine to neutralize delta variants decreased 134-fold between 4 and 10 weeks after the first dose until this ability was lost. A team led by researchers at the University of Oxford found that the ability of AstraZeneca, the University of London, and Pfizer / Biontechs vaccines to inactivate delta variants B16171 and B16172 was significantly impaired, so they could not avoid neutralization.
According to the latest report from Public Health England (PHE ), the Delta variant has become the dominant variant in the UK, with 74% of SARS-CoV-2 sequenced cases and 96% of sequenced genotype cases caused by the delta genotype. Since the first cases were detected in February, the delta has replaced the so-called Alpha variant (B117) discovered in Kent, England. 43% and 90% are transmissible from existing variants of the virus.
In the United Kingdom, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rated the proportion of new COVID-19 cases attributed to the delta variant at 27%. Former European Commissioner for Food and Medicines, Dr Scott Gottlieb, pointed out that 10% of all new cases of Covid- 19 are caused by the delta variant. Some experts fear that the variant could lead to more breakthroughs in vaccinated people who have received only one dose of the vaccine.
The delta variant has been shown to reduce the effectiveness of a single dose of vaccine against mild infections while two doses offer the best protection against more serious diseases, early findings suggest. According to a study of the delta variant identified in India in February, a single shot protects patients from this level of harm by 33%. At 88%, two doses of vaccine are at least as effective in preventing severe cases of COVID-19, the type that can take you to hospital, as the delta variant.
Today, new data published by Public Health England (PHE) in a preprint showed that two doses of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine were 92% effective against hospitalization for the delta variant and that there were no deaths among those vaccinated. The vaccine also showed greater efficacy against the alpha variant, with 86% fewer hospitalizations and deaths reported. The alpha strain was discovered in the UK and is 50 per cent more transmissible than the original strain, PHE said.
The prevalence of this variant does not worry those who have already been vaccinated, Dr. Anthony Fauci told NPR, because it provides an incentive to vaccinate. People who have been vaccinated are protected and there are good reasons to encourage them to do so : “Those who do not vaccinate run the risk of becoming infected with a virus that can spread and cause serious diseases”, said the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Initial research suggests a vaccine could be effective against both mutations.
Experts and officials are urging people who are hesitant to get a vaccine to slow the spread. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that next week an advisory committee will review a report on heart inflammation in 300 people under 30 who received the coronavirus vaccine.
Southwest Missouri has seen a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. CDC data show higher transmission rates in rural parts of Missouri and Kansas, a region struggling with slow vaccination rates. More than 1,300 people were admitted to hospital with the Covid 19 variant between 7 and 13 June, a 43% increase on the previous week.
The rapid spread of a highly contagious delta coronavirus variant found in India has caused a 50% increase in COVID-19 cases in England since May, officials from the Imperial College London said in their latest report on the REACT-1 prevalence study. Covid 19 prevalence is on the rise globally, driven by younger age, and appears to have doubled in just 11 days. That’s bad news, Steven Riley, lead author of the study, told reporters.
Two new studies have looked at delta variant B1617 in the COVID-19 wave in the UK, the first finding that young people are contributing to the exponential growth of Covid-19 cases in England.
On Friday, CDC Director. Rochelle Walensky urged Americans to be vaccinated against the disease. She said she expects that the delta will become the dominant coronavirus variant in the United States. Studies indicate that the delta variant is 60% more transmitsible than the alpha variant based in the UK and more contagious than the original strain that emerged in Wuhan, China in late 2019. The delta variant could become the “dominant strain” of COVID-19, said the chief scientist of the World Health Organization Friday. Dr. Walensky said in an interview on Friday with CNN that the Delta variants could allow increased portability to overtake the Alpha version in the coming months.
Dr Rochelle Walensky said the Pfizer Biontech Moderna vaccine offered the best protection against the second-dose alpha variant identified in the UK. In 97% of cases where the variant was found, sequencing in Indiana submitted a randomized sample to test the delta variant.
The delta variant COVID-19 was discovered in India and known to be more transmitsible than other variants . This variant was named in accordance with an announcement by the World Health Organisation in May in which the WHO confirmed that it was changing its labelling system for COVID 19 variants. One paper suggested that a COVID-18 variant should be called delta because it affects children, and another paper suggested that delta brain waves are child-specific.
The delta variant is thought to be responsible for more than 90% of new infections in the UK, where cases and hospitalizations are on the rise. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Tuesday that the lifting of restrictions on coronavirus in England which had been planned for June 21 would be delayed by four weeks.
