Delta variant could account for 90% of new cases in Europe in August

The eruption of the Delta variant could alter the plans of Europe, which in recent weeks, thanks to the advance in vaccination, has begun to see the end of the pandemic and a return to a normalcy similar to that experienced until early 2020.

A study prepared by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warns that by the end of August, the variant first detected in India could account for 90% of new cases on the continent.

“Based on the scientific evidence available, the Delta variant is more transmissible than the others (…) and we estimate that by the end of August it will be 90%,” the agency said.

One of the hardest hit countries to date is the UK, where the Indian-origin variant has skyrocketed and increased 79% last week.

As reported by Public Health England (PHE), the UK’s health department, in its latest weekly report, the number of patients registered with this variant has risen to 75,953, growing 79% from the previous week.

Two encouraging data and one that worries

On the one hand, there are data which convey a certain calm: the PHE indicated that the two doses of the vaccines showed a high degree of protection against possible hospitalizations, estimated at more than 90%; and its executive director, Jenny Harries, stressed that “hospital admissions and deaths are not increasing at the same rate” as infections.

On the other hand, news which arrived this Wednesday from India. In the Asian country, the health ministry has warned of the Delta plus variant, which it called “a variant of concern.” Authorities have warned that Delta plus could be more contagious than the original, cause more serious illness, or escape the action of vaccines and antibodies.