Delta variant exploits low vaccine rates, easing of rules

The latest alarming coronavirus variant is exploiting low global vaccination rates and a rush to ease pandemic restrictions adding new urgency to the drive to get more shots in arms and slow its supercharged spreadThe vaccines most used in Western countries still appear to offer strong protection against the highly contagious delta variant first identified in India and now spreading in more than 90 other countriesBut the World Health Organization warned this week that the trifecta of easiertospread strains insufficiently immunised populations and a drop in mask use and other public health measures before the virus is better contained will ldquodelay the end of the pandemicrdquo The delta variant is positioned to take full advantage of those chinks in any countrys armorldquoWidespread vaccination remains even more critical because the virus that we have circulating is in fact more transmissible than the original wild typerdquo said Dr Rochelle Walensky director of the US Centres for Disease Control and PreventionAmid concerns about the variants spread parts of Europe have reinstated travel quarantines several Australian cities are in outbreaksparked lockdowns mdash and just as Japan readies for the Olympics some visiting athletes are infected The mutation is causing worry even in countries with relatively successful immunisation campaigns that nonetheless havent reached enough people to snuff out the virusFor instance the mutant has forced Britain where nearly half the population is fully vaccinated to postpone for a month its longanticipated lifting of COVID19 restrictions as cases are doubling about every nine daysIn the US ldquowere still vulnerable for these flareups and reboundsrdquo said Dr Hilary Babcock of Washington University at St LouisThe variants ldquoare able to find any gaps in our protectionrdquo she said pointing to how hospital beds and intensive care units in Missouris leastvaccinated southwestern counties suddenly are filling mdash mostly with adults under 40 who never got the shots With nearly half the US population immunised CDC tracking shows the variant spreading most quickly in swaths of the country with the lowest ratesBut the variant poses the most danger in countries where vaccinations are sparse Africa is seeing cases rise faster than ever before partially driven by the mutation the WHO said Thursday while areas in Bangladesh that border India are also seeing a variantfueled surge Fiji which got through the first year of the pandemic without just two virus deaths is now experiencing a significant outbreak blamed on the strain and Afghanistan is desperately seeking oxygen supplies because of itThe delta variant remains far from the only version of the coronavirus thats spreading mdash and you dont want to catch any kind Heres what scientists know so farEASIER SPREAD IS THE CHIEF THREATScientists believe the delta variant is about 5037 more transmissible than other types Researchers are just beginning to tease apart why But there are early clues that some mutations may ease a key step in how the virus slips inside human cells said Priyamvada Acharya a structural biologist at the Duke Human Vaccine InstituteStill its not clear if higher contagion is the whole reason the variant is spreading so quickly In Britain its rise followed a loosening of restrictions in May when restaurants gyms and other businesses reopened and thousands of fans have attended sports eventsIS IT MORE DANGEROUSIts harder to tell if the delta variant makes people sicker British experts have said there are some preliminary signs it may increase hospitalization but theres no evidence it is more lethalIt fueled a devastating COVID19 surge in India in February and ldquothis time around we had a lot more people who were very sick compared to beforerdquo said Dr Jacob John of Christian Medical College at Vellore But he cautioned that the ldquoexplosionrdquo of cases didnt necessarily mean this version was more dangerous as more cases usually mean more hospitalizationsTHE BEST PROTECTION IS FULL VACCINATIONBritish researchers found two doses of either the PfizerBioNTech vaccine or the AstraZeneca one were only slightly less effective at blocking symptomatic illness from the delta variant than from earlier mutations mdash and importantly remain hugely protective at preventing hospitalizationBut theres an important catch Just one dose proved far less effective against the delta variant than against earlier versions of the virus That has prompted Britain which originally extended the gap between doses to speed up second shotsTheres little information on whether the delta variant can escape other vaccines such as ones developed in China or RussiaExperts say the Moderna vaccine the same type as Pfizers should be similarly protective Johnson amp Johnson still is studying how its onedose vaccine fares against the variant The company notes its shot does protect against a different worrisome mutant mdash the socalled beta variant that emerged in South Africa and is still considered the biggest challenge for todays COVID19 vaccinesWHAT ABOUT MASKSThe WHO has urged governments not to lift pandemic restrictions too quickly mdash including saying everyone even the vaccinated should continue to wear masks given that the delta variant spreads more easily and no vaccine is 10037 effectiveIn the US the CDC says the fully vaccinated can go maskfree But theres no way to know if maskless people really are vaccinated and local governments can set tighter guidelines This week with the delta variant spreading locally health officials in Los Angeles County said they still recommend masks indoors in public places for everyoneIf thats confusing consider that the more the virus is spreading in a particular area the more risk even the vaccinated have of getting a mild or asymptomatic infection they could spread to someone not protected mdash such as children too young to qualify for the shotsIn Missouri fully vaccinated Babcock makes sure she has a mask to pop on quickly if she runs into a crowd ldquoI feel like my new normal is holding a mask in my hand ready to put it on if I need itThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever