As countries around the world grapple with a new wave of covid-19 fueled by the delta strain, health experts are scrambling to determine whether people - mostly unvaccinated - are getting sicker than before from the latest version of the coronavirus.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that the delta strain, which was first discovered in India and now dominates the world, is "probably more dangerous" than previous versions of the virus, according to an internal report released on Friday.
CDS will refer to research in Canada, Singapore and Scotland, which shows that people infected with the delta strain are more likely to be hospitalized than patients in the earlier period of the pandemic.
In talks with Reuters, medical experts said that the three studies indicated a higher risk from the delta strain, but that clinical testing was limited and that outside experts had not yet evaluated the findings. Doctors who treat patients infected with the delta strain have described a faster onset of symptoms of covid-19, and in many parts of the world an overall increase in severe cases of the disease.
However, experts believe that more work is needed to compare outcomes among larger numbers of individuals in epidemiological studies, in order to distinguish whether one strain causes more severe disease than another.
It is also believed that the extremely high transmissibility rate of the delta strain contributes to the higher number of severe cases that end up in the hospital, experts say.
Delta is as contagious as chicken pox, and far more contagious than the common cold or flu, according to a CDC report.
Shane Crotty, a virologist at the Institute of Immunology in San Diego, says the clearest indication that the new strain can cause more severe disease comes from a Scottish study, which found that delta roughly doubled the risk of hospitalization compared with the earlier strain.
The majority of hospitalizations and deaths from the coronavirus in the US are related to the unvaccinated. However, there is evidence that vaccines are less effective in people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly.
For vaccinated, otherwise healthy people, the probability is that if they get infected with covid-19, they will get only an asymptomatic or mild disease, said Dr. Gregory Poland, an expert in infectious diseases from the American Mayo Clinic.
“However, they can pass it on to family members and others who may not be so lucky. We must get vaccinated and wear a mask or we will suffer, for the fourth time, another wave from which worse strains will emerge," said Poland.
Due to the rate of severe illness, especially in parts of the world where coverage of the vaccinated is low, health workers on the front lines of defense against the pandemic are once again under great pressure.
“This is like a forest fire, not a smoldering campfire. It's on fire right now," said Dr. Michelle Baron, director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth Colorado.
Researchers in China say the delta strain replicates much faster and produces a thousand times more virus in the body than the original strain, highlighting the greatest danger of this new wave, Baron said.
"It's hard to say whether they are sicker because of the delta strain or whether they would be sicker anyway," she said.
Other doctors say that patients infected with the delta strain get sick faster and in some cases have more severe symptoms than those treated earlier in the pandemic,
"We're seeing more patients requiring oxygen earlier," said Dr. Benjamin Barlow, chief medical officer at American Family Care, a chain of 28 urgent care clinics.
At his clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, Berlow said about 20 percent of patients are testing positive for Covid, compared to two to three percent a few weeks ago.
The AP agency writes that American employers are losing patience with unvaccinated workers and are increasing the pressure on them to be immunized. For months, most employers have relied on information campaigns, bonuses and other initiatives to encourage workers to receive protection against Covid-19. Now, a growing number are introducing rules that make it harder for employees to say no, from direct orders to requiring regular testing.
Employers getting tougher include the federal government, the governments of California and New York, and tech giants Google and Facebook. Some hospitals, universities, restaurants, cafes, have also started asking for vaccines.
However, as the AP points out, it is unlikely that the new measures will affect the millions of unvaccinated Americans.
The combination of AstraZeneca with Pfizer and Moderna is effective
Combining the AstraZeneca vaccine with a second dose of Pfizer/Bajontek or Moderna provides "good protection", the Danish State Serum Institute announced yesterday.
A growing number of countries are considering switching to a different second dose of the covid-19 vaccine. The measure is particularly needed in Denmark after health authorities suspended AstraZeneca immunization in April due to rare adverse reactions.
More than 144 Danes, mostly medical staff and the elderly, received the first dose of AstraZeneca, but then received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
"That study showed that 14 days after the combined vaccination program, the risk of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus is 88 percent lower compared to unvaccinated people," the Serum Institute said, as reported by Reuters.
That's "high efficacy," the SSI added, compared to the 90 percent efficacy of two doses of Pfizer's vaccine, which was confirmed by a separate Danish study.
The study, published last week, covers a period longer than five months from February to June this year, in which the delta strain of the virus dominated.
It has not been confirmed whether the same protection applies to the new strain, which is now the most widespread in Denmark.
In Germany, from September, the third dose and vaccination of children
In September, Germany will start offering the third dose of the vaccine to vulnerable citizens such as pensioners and people with weakened immunity, 16 provincial health ministers announced yesterday.
Immunization will be done with mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, regardless of which was previously used, Reuters reported.
During talks with the Federal Minister of Health, Jens Špan, the ministers agreed that vaccination should be available for children aged 12 to 17 years.
The decision reflects concerns in Germany that the delta strain could force the country back into restrictions and lockdowns as Europe's biggest economy approaches parliamentary elections in September.
Only slightly more than 52 percent of the population was fully vaccinated, and about 62 percent received at least one dose.
Vaccination of children between 12 and 17 years of age will be voluntary, as for the rest of the population, and will be carried out only after parental consent and a medical examination that will rule out serious health risks, the ministers announced.
About 10 percent of the 4,5 million children in that age group are fully vaccinated, according to Reuters.
Germany has recorded more than 2.000 new cases since Wednesday. The seven-day average incidence was just under 18 per 100.000 yesterday.
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