Initial findings on the Delta variant of Covid-19 indicate that the people vaccinated against the disease may transmit the highly contagious strain as easily as the unvaccinated, said Public Health England (PHE). The findings come after concerns raised by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over people’s infectiousness amid Delta variant spread.
The highly infectious Delta variant has become the dominant coronavirus type globally, sustaining a pandemic that has already killed more than 4.4 million people, including over 130,000 in Britain. Vaccines have been shown to provide good protection against severe disease and death from Delta, especially with two doses, but there is less data on whether vaccinated people can still transmit it to others.
“Some initial findings ... indicate that levels of virus in those who become infected with Delta having already been vaccinated may be similar to levels found in unvaccinated people,” PHE said in a statement.
According to the report, the Delta variant now accounts for more than 99% of Covid-19 cases across the United Kingdom. Out of 1,467 patients hospitalized with confirmed cases of Delta variant, 55.1% were unvaccinated while 34.9% had received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. PHE warned that the UK will see a relatively higher percentage of vaccinated people in hospitals as the vaccination drive further expands.
"This may have implications for people's infectiousness, whether they have been vaccinated or not. However, this is an early exploratory analysis and further targeted studies are needed to confirm whether this is the case," it added.
PHE has labeled the variant “under investigation” but has not declared it a “variant of concern” — a designation that can trigger strong policy responses.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in its latest epidemiological report said that three additional countries have reported Delta variant cases, taking the total number of such countries to 135.
The highly infectious Delta variant has become the dominant coronavirus type globally, sustaining a pandemic that has already killed more than 4.4 million people, including over 130,000 in Britain. Vaccines have been shown to provide good protection against severe disease and death from Delta, especially with two doses, but there is less data on whether vaccinated people can still transmit it to others.
“Some initial findings ... indicate that levels of virus in those who become infected with Delta having already been vaccinated may be similar to levels found in unvaccinated people,” PHE said in a statement.
According to the report, the Delta variant now accounts for more than 99% of Covid-19 cases across the United Kingdom. Out of 1,467 patients hospitalized with confirmed cases of Delta variant, 55.1% were unvaccinated while 34.9% had received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. PHE warned that the UK will see a relatively higher percentage of vaccinated people in hospitals as the vaccination drive further expands.
"This may have implications for people's infectiousness, whether they have been vaccinated or not. However, this is an early exploratory analysis and further targeted studies are needed to confirm whether this is the case," it added.
PHE has labeled the variant “under investigation” but has not declared it a “variant of concern” — a designation that can trigger strong policy responses.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in its latest epidemiological report said that three additional countries have reported Delta variant cases, taking the total number of such countries to 135.
