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The Delta variant of the coronavirus has become the dominant strain in the United States, and experts warn that its continued spread poses a major risk to those who are not vaccinated.
“So far, almost all of the hospitalizations and deaths we see – over 99% of those cases – are among the unvaccinated,” Kristen Choi, assistant professor at UCLA School of Nursing, told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). “So despite this variation – the way it’s changed, that is, it’s more transmissible – vaccines are still our # 1 line of defense. And it will be essential that we continue to make progress in vaccinating adults and children here in the United States. ”
The vaccination rate in the United States has slowed considerably. Currently, 57.1% of people over 12 years of age are fully vaccinated and 65.8% have received at least one dose. But since early July, the numbers have started to drop.
The reasons unvaccinated individuals have avoided the vaccine range from political beliefs to skepticism about the science.
“As for the unvaccinated, in my own research that I’ve done on people who have refused the coronavirus vaccine, it’s often not so much of a case that people haven’t seen the data or are not aware of the data, “says Choi. “It’s much more about the personal fears and personal beliefs of people which tend to be more embarrassing than a lack of data. “
The Delta variant is the “2020 version of COVID-19 on steroids”
The Delta variant, or mutant strain of coronavirus, accounts for about 83% of new COVID cases in the United States, according to CDC director Rochelle Walensky.
The strain is ravaging India, where there have been more than 31 million cases and more than 418,000 deaths. Now the UK is also seeing an influx of cases driven by the variant, with a 74% increase in cases over the past 14 days. India’s full vaccination rate is only 6.3%, while the UK’s is 54%.
The key thing that sets the Delta variant apart from other strains is that it is significantly more contagious.
Andy Slavitt, former senior advisor to the White House COVID response team, described the variant as “the 2020 version of COVID-19 on steroids.”
But scientific data has indicated that the three major vaccines in the United States – from Pfizer (PFE), Moderna (MRNA) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – are all effective against it, though slightly weaker.
“The good news is that we have pretty good protection against the Delta variant of our vaccines,” Choi said. “So far, they’ve all held up very well to the variants. They are somewhat less effective against the variant than the original strain of coronavirus. But nonetheless, they appear to be very effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths. “
Although the Delta variant is a major concern for Choi, she said it was “unlikely” that U.S. hospitals would be as overwhelmed as they were earlier in the pandemic, due to the fact that rates immunizations are high in key areas.
“In places where there is less vaccination, it is possible that these hospitals are more overwhelmed,” Choi said. “But I think it’s unlikely. Even though our overall vaccination rate is around 50%, it is much higher in the elderly. It’s more like 70 to 80% for this group. So there will be hospitalizations, but I think it’s unlikely that we’re in a state where, overall, in the United States, our hospitals are overwhelmed. “
However, Choi is concerned about the way vaccines have been distributed across the country, especially the correlation between rural and more Republican areas and areas with low vaccination rates.
But, “even though we have a long way to go, getting half of our population vaccinated is really a big step forward,” Choi said. “So for that group – half of our population – that’s a pretty big number that’s going to be.”
Adriana Belmonte is a journalist and health policy and policy editor for Yahoo Finance. You can follow her on Twitter @adrianambells and contact her at [email protected].
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