WHO – Surge in cases of Delta variant in places with low vaccination
The highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 was found to be circulating in areas with low vaccine coverage and driving transmission of coronavirus disease around the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. It cautioned that the Delta variant was spreading even in countries with high vaccination rates at the national level.
A recent study conducted at the Washington University School of Medicine showed that the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was unable to evade all but one of the antibodies generated post-vaccination. The research was carried out on four variants of concern: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta on 13 antibodies grown in the lab from antibody growing cells in three vaccinated individuals. 12 of the 13 antibodies recognised Alpha and Delta, eight recognised all four variants, and one failed to recognise any of the four variants.
Meanwhile, WHO Chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan, who was also present at the briefing, emphasized the relevance of COVID vaccines. Swaminathan said that the vaccine jabs were definitely working and clearly preventing an increase in severe illnesses and deaths from delta variants. It is imperative to note that the Indian origin scientist has been a staunch supporter of global vaccination and has repeatedly called for vaccine equity.
Dubbed as the most contagious coronavirus variant so far, it’s not yet clear if the Delta variant makes people more sick. But experts said it spreads more easily because of mutations that makes it better at latching on to cells in our bodies. The Delta variant, first detected in India, has quickly become dominant wherever it has landed, including the US.
