Around the world, there has been a worrying surge in cases of Corona virus. Health experts say the main factor in the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is the highly contagious Delta variant.
According to the world health body WHO, this variant spreads around 55% faster than the Alpha variant, which was first identified in the UK late last year. This variant spread about 50% faster than the version that first started infecting people in late 2019.
The Delta Corona virus was first known in India in December 2020. This strain quickly became the dominant variant and became a storm for the country’s healthcare system.
"This is the most contagious version of the virus we've ever seen during a pandemic. It's highly contagious," Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, was quoted as saying by CNN on Sunday (25/7/2021).
How the virus spread so fast
One study showed the Delta variant is able to transmit faster than other variants because it makes more copies of itself in our bodies at a faster rate.
When scientists in China compared dozens of cases of Delta variants with strains since the beginning of the epidemic, they found that COVID-19 patients with Delta variants had a viral load 1,260 times higher.
“There are more viruses around, infected people have a high viral load, but even for a short time, five minutes, seven minutes, you don’t even have to be within 1 meter,” Jha said.
"For people who are not vaccinated, the exposure time can be faster. While people who are vaccinated, even if they are exposed, they rarely get sick," he continued.
Meanwhile, general surgeon Dr Vivek Murthy said people who had not been vaccinated should take extra protection to avoid getting the virus.
"If you haven't been vaccinated, you're at big risk now. You have to take more precautions if you haven't or haven't been vaccinated," he said.
Data show that more than 97% of people hospitalized for COVID-19 are currently not vaccinated, and 99.5% of deaths include those who are not vaccinated.
"Getting people vaccinated as soon as possible is the fastest and most effective way to get out of this epidemic."
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