Delta Variant

By Grace Yoon, Edited by Cindy Zhang, Layout by Sahithi Lingampalli, Art by Sharon Pan, Blogged by Taruni Manam

As countries worldwide start reopening, they were caught by surprise as the Delta variant swept the world. Although many countries are prepared for another lockdown, the virus still continues to spread.

As the Covid-19 cases numbers steadily come to a halt, The new Covid-19 variant, Delta, was first identified in India and has already spread to various different parts of the world. The Delta variant is estimated to be about 60% more contagious and dangerous than the original Covid-19 strain. Studies have found that the mutation replicates faster and possibly evades the human body’s immune mechanism. Also, the Delta variant can cause massive outbreaks with only a little contact. As more and more people start to take full advantage of the mask mandate lift, the number of cases rises. The virus that was once only found in India has quickly spread to the states; California alone has over one thousand reported cases.

The Delta variant is known as one of the more dominant strains This new strain has more viral loads (a measurement of the amount of a virus in an organism) and is composed of more proteins. The increased number of proteins makes the virus an efficient predator and allows it to duplicate at a quicker rate. In addition, the new variant doubles the risk of hospitalization and death rates . If not careful, hospitals and other healthcare facilities can be overrun by this new virus mutation. Areas with limited hospital beds, such as Palestine and Indonesia, are struggling to keep up with the rising number of Delta variant-affected patients. However, patients affected with the Delta variant have shown symptoms that are very similar to the original Covid-19 virus symptoms, such as headaches, runny nose, sore throat, loss of smell, shortness of breath, fevers, and persistent coughs.

Many debates have sparked as scientists argue about the vaccine’s effectiveness against the Delta variant. Some experts, such as Dr. Rochelle Walensky, argue that the vaccine does work to an extent. Others argue that the vaccine is counter-productive, allowing the new variants to escape the body’s natural immune system defenses. With more research and time, a concrete answer may be established. However, for now, healthcare professionals and health officials continue to encourage the general public to receive their vaccines.

Some people grow restless and impatient as the recently lifted lockdowns are being reinstated. Places such as New Zealand, Australia, and Bangladesh have already placed some form of lockdown and/or mandate to slow the spread of the rampant variant. Even Israel- where most of the population is fully vaccinated- has taken precautions and mandated masks in public spaces. Although governments are doing their best to somehow contain the virus, at least one hundred countries already have the Delta variant. The new variant's rampant run is a true tragedy, as hope for the reinstatement of normal life has only recently eased people’s minds. Many hope this will not escalate into a second lockdown scenario. Unfortunately, all everyone can do is to continue taking precautions, including wearing masks, sanitizing surfaces, and washing hands frequently.

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). US COVID-19 Cases Caused by Variants. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/variant-cases.html.

Delta Variant Prompts Some Countries to Return to Lockdown . Voice of America. (2021, June 26). https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/delta-variant-prompts-some-countries-return-lockdown.

Fact check: What do we know about the coronavirus delta variant?: DW: 30.06.2021. DW.COM. (n.d.). https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-what-do-we-know-about-the-coronavirus-delta-variant/a-57949754.

Goodman, B. (2020, November 13). Study: New Mutation Sped Up Spread of Coronavirus. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20201113/study-new-coronavirus-mutation-accelerates-spread.

Haseltine, W. A. (2021, July 15). The Delta Dilemma: Loosening Covid-19 Controls At A Time Of Increased Danger. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2021/07/13/the-delta-dilemma-loosening-covid-19-controls-at-a-time-of-increased-danger/?sh=3e82d1812750.

Michael E. Miller, J. H. (2021, June 20). Delta variant could become dominant strain in U.S. this summer, CDC head says. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/06/18/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/ .

Ng, A. (2021, July 1). Parts of Indonesia are running out of hospital beds as delta variant surges, health minister says. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/01/indonesias-health-minister-on-delta-covid-surge-hospital-capacity.html.

Times of India. (2021, June 28). Coronavirus Delta Plus Variant: Can the new Delta Plus variant affect people who are fully vaccinated? Here's what we know so far. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/coronavirus-can-the-new-delta-plus-variant-affect-people-who-are-fully-vaccinated-heres-what-we-know-so-far/photostory/83890464.cms.

By Sharon Pan