Advancing as soon as possible in the vaccination with all the required doses, especially among the most vulnerable groups, will serve to face the delta variant of the coronavirus, which seems to be more transmissible than the original, according to Spanish specialists consulted by EFE.
Emerged in India last fall, its presence is still scarce in Spain, but it has spread significantly to countries such as the United Kingdom, where it accounts for more than 90% of new cases.
The microbiologist from the University of Navarra (northern Spanish) Ignacio López-Goñi and the pediatrician and member of the advisory committee on vaccines of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe Federico Martinón-Torres highlight the importance of completing the second dose in vaccines from manufacturers that require it for better protection.
The data coming from the Public Health of the United Kingdom point out that this variant has “a certain escape from neutralizing antibodies at an experimental level, and less efficacy with a dose of vaccine”, indicates López-Goñi, who emphasizes the word “one” .
However, the two doses of Pfizer or AstraZeneca are “effective enough to control this variant, provide a good immune response and are effective in preventing hospitalization.”
In the UK, more than 80% of the population has a dose; and 58%, with both, but the appearance of the delta variant (B.1.617.2) has led to an upturn in infections and a one-month delay in the final phase of social and sanitary restrictions.
Both scientists agree in the analysis of what happened. That country decided to vaccinate as many people as possible with one dose, which does not provide complete protection, and to use the longest recommended time interval to administer the second.
With the arrival of delta, cases accumulated in people without vaccination or only with the first dose. Now they are accelerating so that “most of the population” have both, with which “the effectiveness of the vaccine does not seem to suffer or does so much less”, explains Martinón-Torres.
For this reason, “the most important thing is to complete, as soon as possible, that second dose in the first groups”, those that already have one, and if, in addition, “we have the capacity to first vaccinate more people, great”, an opinion shared López-Goñi.
The delta variant seems more transmissible, although this does not depend only on the microorganism, “there are many other factors”, indicates the WHO advisor.
“The maximum that has been demonstrated, accepted by the scientific community, is a slight increase in transmission capacity, around 30%,” he adds.
Of what “there is no evidence yet” is that it is associated with a greater severity of the disease, says López-Goñi, and explains that this variant has thirteen mutations, of which three are related to a possible increase in infectivity.
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