Covid-19, the vaccine is a “perfect raincoat against heavy rain”

by time news

More and more questions people are asking or asking doctors about vaccines and variants that continue to develop.

“We have to think of the vaccine as a great raincoat – says Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor of public health at George Washington University – if it’s drizzling outside, it won’t get wet, and even if it rains hard, it probably won’t get wet. But if there is a hurricane or a storm outside, there is the possibility of getting wet ”.

As for the variants, and just like the storms, the COVID-19 outbreaks due to the Delta variant will be localized but, unlike the weather forecast, it is easy to predict where they will happen: wherever there are high rates of unvaccinated people ” confirmed Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health and number one adviser to President Joe Biden.

What the whole medical world agrees on is that the vaccine is a valuable element and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), should protect against new variants of the virus.

But how protective they are specifically against the Delta variant, which is currently the most recent and worrying mutation of the virus, remains to be discovered. But one thing is certain: if you are fully vaccinated (two weeks after the second dose) there is a very high chance of not having a Covid-19 infection and, in the unfortunate case of catching it, it will be very light and fast.

For vaccines approved in North America and Europe, there is good efficacy and coverage to avoid hospitalization and death from contagions for Coronavirus variants.

The Alpha variant, first identified in the UK, is around 50% more transmissible than the original form of the virus.

The Pfizer vaccine was 90% effective against the more severe forms of infection caused by this variant. The study also showed high protection against the Beta variant, first identified in South Africa.

A study by Public Health England, an agency of the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care, found that AstraZeneca also showed a high level of efficacy against Alpha, with an 86% reduction in hospitalizations.

The Delta variant is expected to overtake the Alpha variant as the main form of the virus in the United States. Over 20% of new cases in the United States are already due to the Delta variant.

Since the Delta variant is even more transmissible, about 60% more than the Alpha, this will become people’s biggest concern.

Regarding vaccines, a study of the Delta variant in Scotland from the University of Edinburgh found that while the variant was associated with a doubling of the risk of hospitalization in infected people in the region, Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines offered 79% protection, respectively. and 60% against infection, two weeks after the second dose. And a study by Public Health England showed that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine were 88% effective against symptomatic Delta variant disease.

As for the other vaccines, it appears that the Delta variant is not a major threat.

We must be aware that vaccines are the only protagonists in this pandemic and can prevent serious illness and death.

However, vaccines are not effective when they are received. The problem is, you’re not really protected until you’ve received both doses of the vaccines and it’s been two weeks later. That’s why many health professionals agree that it is important to get vaccinated now, before Delta becomes the dominant variant out there.

But even now we must not let our guard down and keep masks, distance when we are with unvaccinated people and then do the tests when traveling, both on arrival and departure to make sure that we are not vehicles for the transmission of viruses and variants. The war against the virus is by no means over, even though we are very close to victory.

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