The new variant of the covid virus which will might forth the ‘inevitable’ third wave has been labeled as the ‘variant of concern’ by the WHO. The WHO said that delta is becoming the dominant variant of the disease worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, it has recently expressed concerns that the Delta variant of Covid-19, the variant first detected in India, is reducing the efficacy of the existing Covid-19 vaccines in the world. A new mutant of the variant has already been found in India, in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon and Ratnagiri, following which the health ministry has asked Maharashtra, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh to be exercise caution.
There are currently two country made vaccines i.e. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Serum Institute of India’s Covishield . According to the health ministry both the vaccines are effective against the Delta variant. Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, “Both the vaccines being administered in India, Covishield and Covaxin, (Sputnik joined later) are effective against Delta. But to what extent and what is the proportion of antibody titers produced by these vaccines will be shared soon.”
The Russia-made vaccine, which became a part of India’s vaccination drive, is effective against all variants of Covid known today, Gamaleya Centre head Alexander Gintsburg has said. “Antibodies developed after vaccination with Sputnik V protect from all variants of COVID known today, starting from the UK variant to the so-called Delta variant, first detected in India,” he said. Sputnik has claimed better protection against new variants and that is why its marketer Russian Direct Investment Fund has proposed a booster shot to other vaccine makers, which will be the third shot after the regular two doses of vaccines.
Adding to the list is Pfizer which is finalising the agreement in India to supply its vaccines is also known to be effective to some extent against Delta variants. But the protection is against hospitalisation; the jury is still out over whether it can protect against the infection. A recent analysis by Public Health England has recently revealed that Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines offer high protection of over 90 per cent against hospitalisation from the Delta variant. Alon Rappaport, Pfizer’s medical director in Israel, told local broadcaster Army Radio, “The data we have today, accumulating from research we are conducting at the lab and including data from those places where the Indian variant, Delta, has replaced the British variant as the common variant, point to our vaccine being very effective, around 90%, in preventing the coronavirus disease, COVID-19.” Israel, with one of the world’s most advanced vaccination campaigns largely based on the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, still lacks enough data to provide insight into vaccine effectiveness against the Delta variant, said Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at Israel’s Health Ministry.
According to data published on Monday by Public Health England, vaccination with Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca is as effective at preventing hospitalisation in the case of the Delta variant as it is in the case of the Alpha variant.
Two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab prevent 96 percent of hospitalisations due to the Delta variant, while AstraZeneca prevents 92 percent, according to a study involving 14,000 people. Previous data released by British health authorities at the end of May come to similar conclusions for less serious forms of the illness.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 88 percent effective against symptomatic Covid caused by the Delta variant two weeks after the second dose, while the jab is 93 percent effective for cases caused by the Alpha variant. AstraZeneca shows efficacy of 60 percent against cases caused by the Delta variant and 66 percent in the case of Alpha.
Also Read:- Delta and Delta Plus COVID variants and its impact
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