08-08-2021-2023 - News USA

Explainer-Beyond Delta, scientists are watching new coronavirus variants

The WHO classifies Delta as a variant of concern, meaning it has been shown capable of increasing transmissibility, causing more severe disease or reducing the benefit of vaccines and treatments.

DELTA

The Delta variant first detected in India remains the most worrisome. It is striking unvaccinated populations in many countries and has proven capable of infecting a higher proportion of vaccinated people than its predecessors.
According to Shane Crotty, a virologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego, Delta's "superpower" is its transmissibility. Chinese researchers found that people infected with Delta carry 1,260 times more virus in their noses compared with the original version of the coronavirus. Some U.S. research suggests that the "viral load" in vaccinated individuals who become infected with Delta is on par with those who are unvaccinated, but more research is needed.

Delta can cause symptoms two to three days faster, giving the immune system less time to respond and mount a defense. Delta also appears to be mutating further, with reports emerging of a "Delta Plus" variant, a sub-lineage that carries an additional mutation that has been shown to evade immune protection.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/explainer-beyond-delta-scientists-watching-121201924.html

Taxi company in Missouri refuses to give rides to customers who wear masks or are vaccinated
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/taxi-company-missouri-refuses-rides-173351285.html



Delta variant renders herd immunity from Covid ‘mythical’

Head of Oxford Vaccine Group rules out overall immunity, but also questions need for booster jabs

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/10/delta-variant-renders-herd-immunity-from-covid-mythical