After one and a half years of battling with the pandemic, finally, it seems like it is getting under control and one of the biggest contributions in this management is coming from vaccines. Although the Covid-19 vaccines are largely available to most people but considering the new variants coming, for example, the delta variant, there are new questions raised on vaccines efficacy. Does any Covid-19 vaccine provide protection against the new strains especially the delta variant that is spreading everywhere?
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The delta Covid-19 variant is spreading much faster than all other strains and questioning how a vaccine would handle this is an important question. In addition to the virus itself being extra contagious, it is mutating within no time. Because of the same reason, it has already reached many new countries and targeting people especially the high-risk group.
According to the latest stats, nearly 40% of all the new Covid-19 cases being reported are caused by the delta variant. However, the question of the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine against the delta variant still remains a big question. Thankfully, many of these vaccines turn out effective against the mutated strains that now include this delta virus too.
Monica Gandhi is an infectious disease expert teaching at the University of California (SF). She states that the currently available vaccines seem to protect against the mutated strains. But there are some rare cases where the vaccinated people can also contract the new delta variant. These people do not represent severe symptoms though and their recovery rate is much faster.
It appears that the vaccinated people should not worry anymore about the new variants coming, because they are protected against all these strains. This statement is only true for people who have received both their doses on time. AstraZeneca and Pfizer provide up to 92% protection that also applies to the mutated strains.
The vaccination response against the delta variant is somewhat similar to that of alpha mutation, which was the first one reported in the original coronavirus. The unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people are at high risk of delta coronavirus because it is more aggressive and chronic than all previous strains. On the other side, vaccinated people have this big concern that the vaccines may not be effective against the new variants of coronavirus strains.
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This risk will remain high unless all people are vaccinated. Although the vaccination programs are running in almost all major countries of the world, there are still lots of people who either do not have access to vaccines or avoid vaccines for personal reasons.
In the US where 2/3rd population has already received at least the first dose of their vaccine, there are many areas where people have not received their first dose yet. The governments should make sure the availability of vaccines for everyone in a country and people should not hesitate to get these vaccines. Meanwhile, the ongoing research can help to understand the vaccine response against mutated versions of coronavirus, helping to devise a better plan for pandemic management.
