Delta Variant Patients Are Twice More Likely To Require Hospitalization, Study Says

Delta Variant Patients Are Twice More Likely To Require Hospitalization, Study Says
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People are twice more likely to require hospitalization if they contracted the Delta variant of the coronavirus instead of the Alpha variant, the former most-spread variant.

The study that led to that unfortunate conclusion is solid proof that people must get fully vaccinated, the experts say.

Vaccination considerably decreases the risk of severe illness from either variant of the virus, though Delta is the main problem we’re now facing.

Official data shows that Delta is responsible for nearly all UK cases at the moment.

The study was conducted by Public health England (PHE) and the Medical Research Council, which analyzed 43,338 Covid cases registered between March and May when both Alpha and Delta were ravaging the country.

Unfortunately, unvaccinated individuals accounted for most of the new infections.

Most new infections didn’t require hospital care, aside from a small part of the patients (2.3% of the people infected with Delta and 2.2% of those infected with Alpha).

After accounting for differences like age, sex, and ethnicity, it was discovered that the risk of hospital admission was twice higher for individuals who contracted the Delta variant.

Experts believe that getting vaccinated should severely decrease the risk. However, you should get both doses for the best protection.

A recent study of the PHE revealed the estimated effectiveness against hospitalization after a complete vaccination:

  • 96% for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
  • 92% for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

Another study suggested that, though protection against symptomatic infections could diminish over time, both vaccines still offer considerable protection against severe illness or death provoked by Delta.

Over 47.9 million people, approximately 88% of the citizens aged 16 and above in the UK, have received at least the first dose of a vaccine.

Also, approximately 42 million people, accounting for 78% of those aged 16 and over, got fully vaccinated.

A few weeks are required to pass after the second dose to benefit from the fullest covid protection.

“We already know that vaccination offers excellent protection against Delta and, as this variant accounts for over 99% of Covid cases in the UK, it is vital that those who have not received two doses of vaccine do so as soon as possible,” said Dr. Gavin Dabrera of the PHE.


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Jeffrey likes to write about health and fitness topics, being a champion fitness instructor in the past.

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