Delta variant: in August it could represent 90% …

“Based on the available scientific evidence, the Delta variant is more transmissible than others (…) and we estimate that by the end of August this will represent 90% “of new cases in the EU, the European agency said in a statement.

As predicted by the director of ECDC, Andrea Ammon, “it is very likely that the Delta variant circulate widely during the summer, especially among unvaccinated young people“, which is why he called for extreme vigilance and to speed up vaccinations.

Studies to date agree that a single dose of existing vaccines only offer limited protection against the variant that appeared in India, which is between 40% and 60% more transmissible than Alpha, which originated in the United Kingdom and is currently predominant in the region. “This could pose a risk that the most vulnerable people will be infected and become seriously ill or die if they have not completed the vaccination process,” the Stockholm-based agency warned.

“The good news is that both doses of one of the available vaccines offer high protection against this variant and its consequences. However, 30% of over 80s and 40% of over 60s have not yet completed the process in the EU, ”noted the ECDC, which oversees the 27 countries of the bloc, as well as Norway. , Iceland and Liechtenstein.

For this reason, the agency recalled that there are “too many people” at risk of severe infection and called on the countries of the bloc not only to speed up the rate of vaccination of vulnerable people, but also to advance cautiously in the relaxation of health measures underway in the region.

If social distancing measures are not followed, the agency warned, there could be a “rapid increase” in infections and the consequent increase in hospitalizations and deaths to “the same levels as in the fall of 2020” .