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from symptoms to the role of vaccines, what do we know- breaking latest news

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The Delta variant was first identified in India in late 2020 and is believed to have contributed, along with ocean-going crowd gatherings and under-use of masks, to the soaring cases in the country during the second wave of the pandemic. of Covid-19. According to the World Health Organization, the Delta variant will become prevalent in Europe as many countries are loosening restrictions and travel across borders is also possible.

How widespread is it in Europe

In the UK, the Delta variant has become prevalent and now accounts for nearly 90% of new cases. In the United States, the prevalence has reached 10%. According to the international database Gisaid, the Indian strain is also very present in Europe albeit at different rates: 4% in Germany, 10% in Spain, 5% in Belgium, 80% in Portugal, 1.3% in France, 4.3 % in Norway, 2% in Poland. Also according to Giseid, Italy stands at 7,7% but the data are still incomplete because not all the laboratories that perform the genomic sequencing share the results in real time in the international database and to have a picture of the Italian situation one must wait for the data to be processed by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità which in the most recent bulletin it speaks of a diffusion below 1%.


An analysis by the Financial Times based on the genetic sequences of the virus always deposited in the Gisaid database combined with other data from the Belgian research institute Sciensano estimates the presence of the variant Delta in Italy at 26%. Estimates also indicate that the Delta variant is dominant in Great Britain and Portugal, where the concentration is 98% and 96%, respectively. The United States follows with 31%, then Italy (26%), Belgium (16%), Germany (15%), France (6.9%).

It appears to be more transmissible

In the UK, where the first cases were recorded in February, the Delta variant caught on and quickly overtook the former British variant Alpha, first spotted in Kent, England and, according to a study published in Science, by the 43 to 90% more transmissible than the original Wuhan cape. According to UK government estimates Delta would be between 40 and 60% more transmissible than Alfa. It is not yet clear what makes Delta more transmissible, but small changes in the spike protein appear increase its ability to bind to the ACE2 receptor used to enter human cells. Scientists still don’t know how many Sars-CoV-2 particles need to be inhaled to become infected, but the threshold may be lower for a virus “better” at grasping ACE2. Another study not yet peer-reviewed suggests that a particular mutation could improve Delta’s ability to fuse with human cells with an increased ability to infect more cells, which would make it easier to get the upper hand over our immune cells.

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Cold-like symptoms

The symptoms caused by the Delta variant also appear to be different. In the United Kingdom, data from the Zoe Covid Symptom study, in which participants with a confirmed Covid diagnosis report symptoms through an app, shows that the most common symptom since the beginning of May is the headache, followed by the sore throat, a runny nose e temperature. Something that looks more like a cold. Cough and loss of smell have almost disappeared. He also talked about the change in symptoms Gianni Rezza, Director General of Prevention of the Ministry of Health during the press conference last Friday: “The Delta variant seems to give slightly different symptoms: more affecting the upper respiratory system such as sore throat, runny nose and headache and rarely anosmia “. The risk of mild symptoms, perhaps mistaken for a cold, especially among younger people who are less likely to develop a serious illness, is to neglect the malaise and not self-isolate, contributing instead to the greater spread of the Delta variant.

More likely to be hospitalized

Most of the scientific data on the Delta variant comes from the United Kingdom where researchers are experimenting with a rapid method (genotype test) to understand if the Covid-19 positive sample contains one of the variants of concern such as the Delta (in Italy they are in preparation of kits for this purpose). According to a Scottish study published in the Lancet on June 14, the Delta variant is associated with twice the risk of hospitalization compared to Alfa. The study looked at data from 19,543 infections and 377 reported hospitalizations in Scotland between 1 April and 6 June. However, the patients had underlying conditions that put them at greater risk of hospitalization. “It is not yet known whether in terms of hospitalization the Delta variant involves a greater risk,” said Gianni Rezza.

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The double dose of vaccine effective against severe disease

The vaccine efficacy surveys also come from the UK. The searches, albeit with different percentages, all go in the same direction: Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are, albeit with a partial loss of efficacy, still valid and efficient against the infection of the Delta variant, but only when the vaccination cycle is completed. On the other hand, they still seem to maintain a very high level of protection against serious illness. Most of the infections reported worldwide of fully vaccinated people who tested positive for Covid-19 manifest with mild symptoms or are asymptomatic. Nonetheless, they help keep the chain of contagion alive.

The aforementioned study published in the Lancet suggested that vaccinated people were less likely to be hospitalized with the Delta variant than unvaccinated people. The efficacy of vaccines against infections was estimated at 79% for Pfizer with the Delta variant (compared with 92% on the Alfa) and for AstraZeneca at 60% with the Delta versus 73% against the Alpha. Other pre-press data released by Public Health England (PHE) measured the effectiveness of Delta vaccines not on infections, but on severe cases (hospitalizations and deaths). In preventing hospitalizations after Delta infection, Pfizer was 94% effective after the first dose and 96% after the second. AstraZeneca prevents hospitalizations with 71% effectiveness after the first dose and 92% with the second. Previous data also published by Public Health England have concluded that both vaccines are only highly effective against the Delta variant, but only after the second dose. A single dose of both products provides rather limited protection: only 33% against the Indian variant compared to 50% effectiveness against the English variant. To prevent symptomatic infections of the Delta variant, the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine, after two doses, is instead equal to 88%, AstraZeneca to 60%.

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Is the Delta variant associated with multiple deaths?

We do not yet know if the Delta variant is associated with a higher number of deaths because the data is still too few. As of June 14, the UK had reported 42 deaths among people infected with the Delta variant. Of these 23 were unvaccinated, 7 had received a first dose of the vaccine and 12 were fully vaccinated. However, those who have completed vaccination in the UK tend to be older people, generally more vulnerable and it is difficult at this stage to calculate the impact of the Delta variant on lethality rates.

Will there be a need for the recall?

We don’t know yet if we’ll need one third dose of vaccine to better protect us from the Delta variant. It will be possible to understand this better when the Indian strain is more widespread and more and more people are vaccinated: at that moment it will be possible to better calculate the infection rates among the vaccinated and evaluate what to do. It is also possible that the third booster may only be aimed at the most vulnerable people as is already the case with the flu vaccine.

Covid variants and the spread of the virus: the news

June 22, 2021 (change June 22, 2021 | 09:14)

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