Delta variant of the covid, possible prevalence in Lombardy between 2-4 weeks. To say it is the councilor for Welfare of the Region, Letizia Moratti, responding to a motion presented in the regional council and reiterating that at the moment the prevailing variant in the Lombardy Region is the Alpha or English variant
“Given its degree of contagiousness, it is foreseeable that the Delta variant will soon become the prevailing variant in two to four weeks”, he explained, adding: “With respect to the degree of protection of vaccination, it is established that against of the Alpha variant, even the single vaccination dose of any vaccine – mRNA vaccines confer a higher degree of protection than viral vector vaccines – is capable of conferring protection against serious disease “. The Gamma variant (Brazilian) and the other variants “are stable over time. There are currently no significant epidemiological changes”.
“In June alone, the presence of variants was identified as Alpha in 64%” of Covid infections, “Delta in 10%, Beta in 0.6%, Eta in 0.8%, Gamma in 1.9% , Kappa in 0.7% “, he explained again underlining that” 358,759 molecular swabs and 347,315 antigenic swabs were processed in Lombardy from 11 June to 5 July. Sequencing was arranged for all positive swabs performed. From January to June 2021, 18,038 genotypes were performed for 16,231 patients “.
The Delta variant, he stressed, “is spreading, as widely expected and expected, throughout the nation”. But “it must be emphasized that at this moment, the population over 75 years of age and the fragile populations or populations at risk of serious disease are not affected by the increase in the spread of the Delta variant”. A second element to highlight, according to Moratti, “is that of the trend of hospitalizations and above all of the trend of new infections in general”. The current extreme reduction in the circulation of the virus “in fact makes the percentage data concerning the circulation of the Delta variant interpretable in a more correct way”.
A third element “that deserved to be underlined to deny unnecessary alarmism concerns the fact that the double dose is also highly protective for the Delta variant, and that more than 85% of frail patients in the Lombardy Region have already received the second dose. data confirmed to date, it emerges that the Delta variant has a partial capacity for immune escape especially in incompletely vaccinated people (one dose), while fully vaccinated subjects have good protection, regardless of the type of vaccine, homologous or heterologous ” .