As we learn more about the Delta variant, we become aware of just how dangerous and contagious it is.
Why? What makes it that way?
Why is this particular variant so much easier to spread than any other version of Covid-19?
In this post, you’re going to learn the answers to that question.
Let’s dive in and talk about it.
Covid Is Surging Again – And It’s Partly Due To The Delta Variant
According to a CNN.com news report, another alarming surge of Covid has health experts concerned. But this latest wave is being caused by the ‘highly contagious’ Delta variant.
According to health experts, this particular strain is spreading at a rate 55% faster than the Alpha strain, which was a strain that was first identified in the UK in late 2020.
For reference, and to understand what that means, the Alpha strain spread about 50% faster than the ‘initial’ strain of Covid that started infecting people in late 2019.
So, the Delta variant certainly isn’t a slouch of a variant.
In fact, in the CNN.com news report, Andy Slavitt, a former senior advisor to President Joe Biden’s Covid response team, said this about it:
“We should think about the Delta variant as the 2020 version of Covid-19 on steroids…”
The Delta variant showed up in India in December of 2020. That’s where it was first identified. But it quickly became that country’s number-one variant, and overwhelmed their healthcare system.
After that, it started showing up in the UK. And now, as of July of 2021, it has been identified in all 50 states in the US.
But what makes it so contagious?
What Exactly Makes Delta Variant So Contagious?
The exact answer to this question is still being studied.
But one possible theory is that it may create copies of itself inside the human body at a much faster rate.
The thing about the Delta variant that really stands out is that patients tend to test positive for viral loads that are about 1,260 times higher than those recorded in previous Covid strains.
This gives us a clue about why Delta may be so much easier to transmit and spread.
This basically tells us that there’s just so much more of the virus around. In other words, with such a high viral load, transmission is just so much more likely.
How To Protect Yourself From The Delta Variant
According to health officials, experts, and statistics, the vaccines available in the US are turning out to be quite effective—even against the Delta variant.
Even in breakthrough cases, where someone who was vaccinated does get the virus, the odds of them becoming very sick are greatly minimized.
The real problem now is that less than half of the United States is fully vaccinated, which means that we may now be facing a new chapter of the pandemic, wherein those who haven’t received the vaccine may feel the ravaging effects of Delta as it spreads through the population.
Getting vaccinated definitely seems to be the best way to protect yourself from any strain of Covid detected thus-far, including the Delta variant.