Last Thursday the first case of the Delta variant of Covid-19 was detected in the national territory. This is a 43-year-old woman from San Javier, in the Maule Region, who entered Chile from a flight from the United States.
The Delta variant has been found in 76 countries and 49 states in the United States. Meanwhile, in Latin America, it has been reported in Peru, Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
According to experts, it has a much higher speed of contagion. It would only take between 5 and 10 seconds for a person without a mask to be infected. Although if you have one, the process is also accelerated, reporting cases of up to one minute.
For this reason, the Seremi de Salud de la Región de Coquimbo announced that they will reinforce the testing strategy for international travelers and carriers at points of entry into the country. Likewise, the monitoring and inspection of the mandatory quarantines of those who arrive on national soil will be promoted.
More virulent
Regarding the characteristics of the new variant, Rubén Quezada, UCN academic and regional president of the Medical College, pointed out that it has a higher transmissibility than the previously known strains.
For this reason, the Minsal tightened the definition of close contact, establishing as such all those who have had a relationship with a positive, regardless of whether they used a mask or not.
For her part, the infectologist and academic from the University of Chile, Jeannette Dabanch, added that the virus has become more efficient, being capable of making more people sick.
“The new variants are more communicable and can make you sicker. When they infect us, they recognize our cells much better, that is, they have improved the lock to enter our organisms. Instead of infecting four cells, they infect many more. That means that every time a person is infected, they are capable of infecting more than before ”, explained the specialist.
Along the same lines, Dr. Aldoaneth Leiva, an infectologist at the Hospital de La Serena, agrees that the Delta variant is more efficient to achieve infections and it seems that it can generate a more severe disease.
Symptoms of a cold
Regarding the most common symptoms of Delta, Rubén Quezada, explains that they are more nonspecific, since patients can present symptoms similar to a cold.
The foregoing, he raises, generates more confidence when confused with a viral picture, however, “a few days later they can worsen more and quickly require mechanical ventilation.”
The academic Dabanch warns that the effectiveness of the vaccines tested in our country is not yet clear for the Delta variant. Along with that, he indicated that it can eventually affect detection as well, “challenging the ability of PCR.”
Consequently, he affirms that the above can lead to an increase in hospitalized patients, making other groups such as young people and children ill.
Vaccine efficacy
Without a doubt, Delta challenges the inoculation process in the country, to which are added the words of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who doubted the efficacy of the Russian and Chinese vaccines Sputnik V and Sinovac, and set a negative example to Chile, which has used the latter mainly to immunize its population.
Likewise, there are some studies carried out in England that suggest that vaccines show a decrease in their effectiveness against this Delta variant.
At this point, Aldoaneth Leiva ensures that current vaccines remain adequate and establish a level of protection.
“They do not prevent infection, but serious diseases. This is valid for Pfizer and Sinovac, as well as for AztraZeneca that have activity for this variant ”, says the professional from the Serenense hospital.
In this regard, Rubén Quezada adds that “the studies that have been done with Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccination reflect a lower effectiveness of contagiousness and the same for hospitalization and mortality reduction. Unfortunately there are no Sinovac studies for this new variant ”.
Finally, the infectologist, Jeannette Dabanch, insists on the importance of inoculation. “The point is that they don’t defend us in the same way as they did against the other variants. That is why it is important to reduce the cases of infections and, on the other hand, allow vaccines to do their job well.
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