According to a recent CNN.com report, the Delta Covid variant is “so contagious, those unprotected will likely get it.”
But what exactly does this mean, and does it matter for you?
Here’s what you need to know—the latest information regarding the Delta variant.
The Basics: The Delta Variant Is A More Dangerous Covid Variant
According to the report, health officials are warning the public that people who don’t get vaccinated may not have the ability to protect themselves from getting this more dangerous variant of the Coronavirus.
According to Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who served as the 23rd commissioner of the FDA from 2017 to 2019, “most people will either get vaccinated, or have been previously infected, or they will get this Delta variant… and for most people who get this Delta variant, it’s going to be the most serious virus that they get in their lifetime in terms of the risk of putting them in the hospital.”
The report also cited the results of research where 62 cases of the Delta variant were studied, and found to contain viral loads of 1,260 times higher than the cases studied in the early wave of the epidemic back in 2020.
This variant is also sending younger people to the hospital. It’s affecting more 40-year-olds, more parents, more young grandparents, and even more kids.
Is There Any Good News?
The silver lining in this news story is that the vaccinations have thus far proven to be quite effective in helping to protect the public from the Delta variant.
But of course, in order to benefit from the safety of the vaccine, you need to get vaccinated.
According to doctors, masks and mitigation aren’t going to stop this wave of the virus. The Delta variant is just far more dangerous and contagious. The vaccines are really the only way to stop it.
But here’s where the statistics show us just how effective the vaccines have been.
According to the numbers, since February, 97% of deaths and cases related to Covid-19 in the state of Louisiana were among people who were not fully vaccinated.
That’s good, in the sense that it shows us that the vaccine is helping.
But of course, there’s also a downside.
As of Sunday, July 18th, 2021, only 48.6% of Americans were fully vaccinated.
This is a far cry from the 60 to 70 percent that was previously estimated to be what we would need to reach herd immunity in the US.
Some people are saying that we may not even be able to reach herd immunity now, thanks to so many people failing to get fully vaccinated.
What’s The Point Of All Of This?
The point of all of this is to say that the Delta variant is absolutely the most dangerous and destructive version of the virus to surface yet.
The good news? The vaccine seems to be quite effective.
But if you haven’t gotten vaccinated, odds are good that masks and ‘social distancing’ won’t keep you from becoming infected. And this variant carries a much higher likelihood of potentially sending you to the hospital.