By – Khan Ahmad Darvesh
According to a British study, people infected with the Covid19 delta variant are more than twice as likely to be hospitalized as people infected with the alpha strain, which increases the likelihood of a greater burden of medical services this winter.
Comments on more than 43,000 Covid19 cases in England (most of which were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated) were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Friday, highlighting the hospital protection provided by the vaccine for the two variants.
The study evaluated positive cases that occurred between March 29 and May 23, using whole-genome sequencing to analyze virus samples to determine which mutation a person was infected with. Almost three-quarters of the patients were not vaccinated, 24% were partially vaccinated, and 2% were vaccinated both times. The first study of the delta variant, which originally appeared in India in December, found that it is 50% more infectious than other strains. It quickly spread to more than 130 countries around the world, becoming the main variant in many countries. With children returning to school this fall and countries abandoning lockdown and isolation measures, the findings of Public Health England and the University of Cambridge indicate that medical services may face an influx of patients.
“Our analysis emphasizes that in the absence of vaccination, any delta epidemic will place a greater burden on health care than an alpha epidemic,” said Anne Presanis, the lead author of the study and a senior statistician at the University of Cambridge. “Complete vaccination is essential to reduce the risk of a person being infected with the symptomatic delta virus.”
During the two-month study period, 80% of cases were alpha and 20 lta, and last week, delta increased to account for cases Two-thirds of the strain because it became the main strain in the UK, the author said. Although the researchers were unable to obtain information about the patient’s past health, they considered age, gender, race, and estimated level of socioeconomic deprivation to consider patients most likely to be hospitalized with Covid19. A study published in Scotland in June also found that the delta variant doubled the risk of hospitalization compared to alpha, which was first discovered in Kent, England.
In the United States, data from the Department of Health and Human Services shows that, although the number of people who tested positive is much lower than the peak in December and January, the youth admission rate is at a level record. For older Americans, the hospitalization rate per 100,000 is lower than the previous peak, which may be due to the very high vaccination rate. The data does not include the first wave of the pandemic.
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