Editorial: The deadly ‘Delta’ variant

Vaccination rate must go up 3-fold to cover 80% of adult population by Sept, given the rapid mutation of the virus

The rapidly spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus is a cause for concern globally. It has already forced the United Kingdom to delay its unlocking plans. As the world is getting ready to ease restrictions, the virulence of the Delta variant, first detected in India and later declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a ‘variant of concern’, is proving to be a major dampener. It is the major reason behind the surge in Covid-19 cases in India during the second wave. This variant is highly transmissible, spreading nearly 60% faster than the Alpha variant detected first in the UK, and currently accounts for 6% of all cases in the United States. The estimates for doubling rate — time taken for the number of infections to double — for the Delta is also relatively high, ranging from 4.5 days to 11.5 days. A study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Dehi recently found that the Delta variant can infect vaccinated people, though the infection does not become severe. Further, ‘Delta Plus’, a new variant, is resistant to even the monoclonal antibody cocktail treatment for Covid-19, recently authorised in India. However, the silver lining is that the Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca have been found to offer high protection of more than 90% against hospitalisation from the Delta variant. Researchers at Pune’s Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology concluded that Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is also effective in neutralising this variant.

Speeding up the vaccination drive is the only way to create a large immunity pool and save the lives of people, given the rapid mutation of the original Sars-CoV-2 virus. The second wave, led by the Delta variant, showed how rapidly the infection was spreading and caused a high number of fatalities. Though the pace of inoculation has marginally improved in June, it is still not enough to reach the target of covering the entire population by the end of this year. The daily average so far in June has crossed 3 million, marginally higher than the previous months, but it is far below what is needed. Moreover, a significant divide exists in terms of gender and rural-urban. Vaccine hesitancy is another area of concern and could become a major challenge as the second wave recedes. The current rate of vaccination must go up three-fold to cover 80% of the adult population by September, a goal suggested by the Union Finance Ministry to achieve herd immunity. The silver lining is that vaccine supply is expected to increase sharply from July as the Centre recently placed orders for one billion doses from various vaccine makers.

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