Delta variant ‘greatest threat’ to the nation’s efforts to eliminate Covid
Berkeley Lovelace Jr
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday the highly contagious delta variant is the “greatest threat” to the nation’s attempt to eliminate Covid-19.
Delta, first identified in India, now makes up about 20% of all new cases in the United States, up from 10% about two weeks ago, Fauci said during a White House news conference on the pandemic.
He said delta appears to be “following the same pattern” as alpha, the variant first found in the U.K., with infections doubling in the U.S. about every two weeks.
“Similar to the situation in the U.K., the delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate Covid-19,” he said.
Fauci’s comments come after CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Friday urged Americans to get vaccinated against Covid, saying she expects delta to become the dominant coronavirus variant in the U.S.
Studies suggest it is around 60% more transmissible than alpha, which was more contagious than the original strain that emerged from Wuhan, China, in late 2019
“As worrisome as this delta strain is with regard to its hyper transmissibility, our vaccines work,” Walensky told the ABC program “Good Morning America.” If you get vaccinated, “you’ll be protected against this delta variant,” she added.
The United Kingdom recently saw the delta variant become the dominant strain there, surpassing alpha, which was first detected in the country last fall. The delta variant now makes up more than 60% of new cases in the U.K.
Health officials say there are reports that the delta variant also causes more severe symptoms, but that more research is needed to confirm those conclusions. Still, there are signs that the delta strain could provoke different symptoms than other variants.
Fauci said Tuesday the U.S. has “the tools” to defeat the variant, urging more Americans to get fully vaccinated against Covid and “crush the outbreak”
The Biden administration said earlier Tuesday that it likely won’t hit President Joe Biden’s goal of getting 70% of American adults to receive one vaccine shot or more by the Fourth of July.
A number of governments have warned about the rapidly spreading Delta variant of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Because of its spread, authorities have warned that the biggest wave of the pandemic is yet to come. These same authorities are implementing measures that curtail people’s freedoms – such as lockdowns and mask mandates – under the guise of keeping the Delta variant at bay.
According to the now-discredited “science” establishment, the Delta or B16172 variant first detected in India is described as a sub-strain of the original B1617 variant that initially circulated there. It possessed three notable mutations that set it apart from earlier strains. The E484Q mutation allowed it to escape immunity from vaccines or earlier infection. The L452R mutation enabled it to become 20 percent more transmissible, while the P681R mutation contributed to its increased infectiousness.
A report by the Times of India (TOI) said the Delta variant even mutated further in some instances, becoming the Delta plus or AY1 strain. This strain possessed the K417N mutation at the virus’s spike protein, which enables it to enter and infect human cells. The TOI report added that the AY1 variant showed resistance to monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19.
Author Michael Snyder wrote in his blog that the Delta variant is “wreaking havoc” in different countries worldwide. It caused new COVID-19 cases in the U.K. to rise by 109 percent in a week’s time. Of these new cases, the Delta variant accounted for 91 percent. Because of this, the British government has considered extending lockdown restrictions by another month, the Daily Mail reported.
The same report added that a study by Public Health England (PHE) found that 29 percent of the 42 fatalities caused by the new strain were fully vaccinated against the disease. The PHE study only reignited fears of another outbreak, as cases and deaths there were on a downtrend. Many Britons also called for lifting the unnecessary lockdowns.
Chile is another country that has locked itself down over fears of another circulating COVID-19 variant, namely the Brazilian P1 strain. Health authorities in the South American nation announced a blanket lockdown across its capital city of Santiago on June 10. The lockdown followed Chile’s daily nationwide caseload surging 17 percent in the past two weeks. Concurrently, the daily caseload for the Santiago Metropolitan region also spiked by 25 percent in the same period.
The lockdown starkly contrasted with Chile’s mass vaccination drive to protect its population against the Wuhan coronavirus. It boasted of having one of the highest vaccination rates worldwide, alongside countries such as the U.S. and Israel. According to Reuters data, around three-fourths of Chile’s 15 million population have already received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Meanwhile, almost 58 percent of Chileans are completely vaccinated against the disease.
1 comment:
Heck no, this time it won't work, in my opinion! no one is buying lies, and even if a man-made virus is circulating, most folks would rather risk death, illness, than bow down, roll over like dogs before; Fools no more, yes the calm before the storm................
Many never did cave, other's follow this too, and influenced by others not conforming is as powerful as deceptive demonic tyrants, IMO! This is but a Spiritual Battle full blown!
Post a Comment