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Delta Plus Virus | The New COVID Variant and its Impact

Talking about corona virus , there is an uproar in the world because of the Delta variant. America and European countries are worried that the Delta variant will cause the next wave of Covid. On the other hand, people in India are worried that there might be third wave because of the Delta Plus variant.

WHAT IS THIS DELTA VARIANT?


The Delta variant, scientifically termed as B.1.617.2 contains mutations from two separate variants. But the Delta variant is the new name assigned by the World Health Organization. It was earlier called as the ‘Indian Variant’ because it was first found here. Now it has spread to other nations too.




WHY HAS IT BECOME A WORRISOME STRAIN?


That’s because research suggests it may be the most transmissible variant yet. Experts believe Delta Variant is 40 to 50% more infectious than the alpha variant ( first reported from the UK ). It sparked the huge wave of infections across India and the second wave. Now Delta variant comprises 91% of the new cases in the UK. And it makes more than 10 % of new cases in the USA are of the Delta variant. It has also spread to 74 countries worldwide on every continent apart from Antarctica. It is not only more transmissible, research also suggests it can cause an increased risk of hospitalization. The WHO has classified the Delta as a ‘Variant Of Concern’.

CLASSIC COVID SYMPTOMS:

· Fever

· Cough

· Loss of smell


However a new study in the UK shows that the symptoms may be changing due to the rise of Delta plus Variant.

DELTA VARIANT TOP SYMPTOMS

· Headaches

· Sore throat

· Runny nose

WHAT ABOUT THE VACCINES? DO THEY WORK AGAINST DELTA VARIANT?


Several studies suggest that the Delta Variant seems to have stronger resistance to vaccines than other variants do. But there is also evidence that COVID shots are working against it. Latest research suggests that Pfizer vaccine was found and it is 96% effective in preventing hospitalization after two doses while AstraZeneca is 92% effective. So, people need to be fully vaccinated for these two doses to be effective. The team behind the Sputnik vaccine meanwhile tweeted that their vaccine was the “more efficient against the Delta variant than any other vaccine”. But they haven’t published results yet. Early study shows Covaxin also offers protection against Delta. The highly transmissible Delta variant has now further mutated to form ‘Delta Plus’. The earliest sequence of this genome was found in Europe in March this year. Now, the strain is in nine countries including India, US, UK, Russia among others. It is now a variant of concern in India and the center has asked states to take immediate steps to contain the spread, increasing testing and vaccination in areas that are seeing a rise in number of cases. Experts in Maharashtra have warned that this variant might affect more than the first and the second wave in the state. And the active COVID-19 cases might rise to 8 lakhs. The bottom-line is that viruses are meant to mutate and there is no definite answer as to how many times it will change. Yes, the vaccinations are slowly picking pace but no one is safe until everyone is safe. COVID is still very infectious, and it is important that we don’t let our guard down not just for this variant but others that will emerge too.

For more details visit MrMed


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