Delta is spreading so fast it ‘lacks candidates’ to infect, says WHO expert



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KEY POINTS

  • Delta infections are increasing rapidly but also decreasing just as quickly: Larry Brilliant
  • A recession in infections has already been felt in the UK and India
  • Some Southern States are experiencing “déjà vu” from the catastrophic health crisis of 2020
  • The United States remains the hardest hit in the world, with more than 35 million confirmed cases

An expert from the World Health Organization (WHO) said the Delta variant of COVID-19 is spreading so quickly that there are no more people to infect, but also warned that although infections could decrease as rapidly as infections increase, “there may be more to come.”

Epidemiology expert Larry Brilliant explained that based on models of Delta variant outbreaks in New York and San Francisco, the variant spreads in “an inverted V-shaped epidemic curve.” He told CNBC that the models suggest that Delta infections are increasing rapidly, but infections will also decrease very quickly.

Brilliant’s projection of the spread of the variant, if proven to be true, means the virus continues to spread so rapidly that “there is essentially a shortage of candidates” to infect, but it will also begin to recede after record highs. high infection.

There have already been apparent scenarios of Delta infection recessions in India and UK. India peaked at over 390,000 cases of COVID-19 in May, but at the end of June, cases remained below 50,000. In the UK, there were around 47,700 infections, but on July 29, there have only been about 26,000 confirmed cases.

Brilliant, who was part of the WHO team that worked on smallpox, said that based on recent activity of the Delta variant, the likelihood of a ‘super variant’ evolving is low, although that it cannot be excluded. He added that the Delta’s activity could be as short as a “six-month phenomenon in a country, rather than a two-year phenomenon” because of its rapid spread and rapid recession.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 situation in some southern states has started to frustrate healthcare workers as they begin to see a repeating history of last year’s devastating pandemic situation, CNN reported. Houston United Memorial Medical Center chief of staff Dr Joseph Varon said “it’s a déjà vu of what we had last year,” adding that it was “preventable” but some people “don’t do the right thing”.

The United States averages more than 100,000 new cases a day, marking the highest number in the hard-hit country in the past six months. Some 50.1% of the total U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed.

So far, the United States remains the hardest-hit country in the world. Data from Johns Hopkins University revealed the country had 35,762,751 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Sunday. The United States has also recorded 616,827 deaths related to the disease. India follows with nearly 32 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 427,000 deaths.

An increase in the highly transmissible variant Delta has brought a wealth of bad news to the United States: the total number of new daily cases has climbed to 118,000, its highest level since February;  and deaths have increased by 89% in the past two weeks An increase in the highly transmissible variant Delta has brought a wealth of bad news to the United States: the total number of new daily cases has reached 118,000, its highest level since February; and deaths have increased by 89% in the past two weeks Photo credit: AFP / Patrick T. FALLON



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