I get a lot of questions about Covid vaccines and I try to put out information as often as I have time to. I hope you find this information useful.
The new Delta variant of the Covid 19 SARS-2 virus has now been identified in Maryland. Before you panic, please remember that this really isn’t news as it was inevitable. Also this is not as alarming as the news we received this time last year.
All viruses evolve over time and undergo changes as they spread and replicate so we knew that there would be multiple variants.
Studies have shown that the only people without co-morbid conditions dying from Covid right now in the US, are those who did NOT get vaccinated.
(BTW We still have the Moderna and J and J vaccines in the office).
The reason the Delta variant is a concern, is that it is a highly contagious (and possibly more severe) SARS-CoV-2 virus strain. It was first identified in India in December. It then swept rapidly through that country and Great Britain as well, leading to rising numbers of infections and deaths. The first Delta case in the United States was diagnosed a couple of months ago (in March) and now cases here are rapidly multiplying.
The other name for the Delta variant is B.1.617.2.
Towards the end of June, Delta had already made up more than 20% of cases in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates. That number is rising swiftly, prompting predictions that the strain will soon become the dominant variant here.
People who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 are most at risk. In the U.S., there is a disproportionate number of unvaccinated people in Southern and Appalachian states including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, and West Virginia, where vaccination rates are low (in some of these states, the number of cases is on the rise even as some other states are lifting restrictions because their cases are going down).
So far it is believed that all three vaccines give some protection against the Delta variant.
It seems like cough and loss of smell are less common symptoms with Delta Covid than the first one (Alpha). And headache, sore throat, runny nose, and fever are present more often based on the most recent surveys in the U.K., where more than 90% of the cases are due to the Delta strain.
Moderna has reported on studies (not yet peer-reviewed) that showed its vaccine to be effective against Delta and several other mutations (researchers noted only a ”modest reduction in neutralizing titers” against Delta when compared to its effectiveness against the original virus). Johnson & Johnson also has reported that its vaccine is effective against the Delta variant, showing only a small drop in potency compared with its effectiveness against the original strain of the virus.
The most important thing you can do to protect yourself from Delta is to get fully vaccinated. That means if you get a two-dose vaccine like Pfizer or Moderna, for example, you must get both shots and then wait the recommended two-week period for those shots to take full effect. Whether or not you are vaccinated, it’s also important to follow CDC prevention guidelines that are available for vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Covid vaccine boosters
I have had a lot of questions about boosters and the answer to most of them is “we don’t know”. But here are some of the questions scientists are grappling with.
If a booster is needed, when will that be? How do we know the maximum duration the vaccine protection lasts? Right now it appears we are not going to need boosters as frequently as initially thought.
Should the booster be the same kind as the first vaccination or should people be boosted with a different kind of vaccine? They are looking at this question in the UK. The UK decided to vaccinate most people with the first shot and delay the second one to make sure there was enough for everyone. Everyone got Astra Zeneca as the first vaccine but some people were given Pfizer as their second shot.
Studies are being carried out to see what regimen is most effective.
There are those who think that mix and match may give added protection.
“Oh, don’t worry I’ve been vaccinated!”
I cringe every time I hear someone say this when they are asked to put on a mask. Just because you have been vaccinated doesn’t mean you cannot pass the virus to someone else. It does however mean that if you get infected you will not have a severe illness so you are personally protected.
ANTI-AGING
On a completely different subject, always thinking about my patients (smile), I actually made 3 short (2 minute) videos on anti-aging to answer another question I get quite a bit. “What is your secret?” well here is the answer!
The three main ‘secrets’ to anti-aging that you probably already know, especially if you have been my patient for a while. Sometimes we know things but we need to be reminded. If you would like to, please click on the links below and check out the answer and the south of Spain!
https://youtu.be/8lsaW-pS3Fo
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