Novant Health UVA Health System Prince William Medical Center issued the following announcement on Sept. 1
Despite hitting all-time low counts of cases earlier this summer, COVID-19 has ramped up once again. Hospitals are filling with COVID-positive patients, masks have returned, and establishments are capping their capacities. Many are wondering, if there is vaccine available, why are cases increasing so rapidly?
According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Delta variant is the cause of the recent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
This new variant is distressing, and it can be confusing to sort fact from fiction on the internet.
Respectively, Zan Zaidi, MD and Michelle Strider are physician executive and chief quality officer for UVA Health’s community medical centers and associated care sites in Northern Virginia and Culpeper. Below, they offer insight into the current state of COVID-19.
What is the Delta variant?
According to the CDC, the COVID-19 Delta variant is the most contagious variant yet. New data has shown that this variant has increased its transmissibility even to vaccinated people, causing “breakthrough” cases.
“Only about 70 percent of American adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, so we have large areas of the country with lower vaccination rates driving explosive growth in cases and stressing hospital systems. This has become a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” said Zaidi.
Previous variants typically produced less viral load in the bodies of fully vaccinated people than in unvaccinated people. In comparison, the CDC reports that the Delta variant seems to produce a high level of virus in both fully vaccinated and unvaccinated persons. However, vaccinated people are infectious for a shorter time than unvaccinated people. This means that vaccinated people have significantly lower risk of spreading the virus or developing serious illness than unvaccinated people.
Do breakthrough cases among vaccinated people mean the vaccines don’t work as well as promised?
The COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States are all highly effective at preventing severe disease and death, including against the Delta variant. However, there will still be breakthrough infections because no vaccine is 100 percent effective. Most of these breakthrough cases will only lead to mild symptoms.
“Vaccination is an incredible tool to protect those who are the most vulnerable, which right now are the unvaccinated. It allows your immune system to recognize the virus as soon as you are exposed to it, and to be able to neutralize it before it can lead to illness,” said Zaidi.
Why do I have to wear a mask even if I’ve been vaccinated?
“Even if you’re fully vaccinated, masking and physical distancing are crucial to mitigating the spread of the virus during times of increased community transmission,” Zaidi said. “Masks help protect yourself and others who are not able to be vaccinated, like young children.” One in five COVID-19 diagnoses are now in children, he added.
What about boosters?
Earlier this month, the CDC recommended that immunocompromised people who had received the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine should receive a third dose.
“The third dose is recommended to enhance the immune response for those people who may not have had a strong immune response to the initial series of vaccination,” said Strider.
The federal government announced Aug. 18 that it will begin offering booster shots the week of Sept. 20, 2021. Officials stated that the third dose will be offered at 80,000 sites nationwide, including 40,000 pharmacies.
For more information on coronavirus safety, visit NovantHealthUVA.org/coronavirus.
Original source can be found here.
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