A recent British study found that the COVID-19 Delta variant doubles the risk of hospitalization for individuals who haven’t been vaccinated.
The new study that was published in the British journal The Lancet, aimed to look at the effects of the delta variant on public health and social measures. The variant has been identified in 154 countries and has been considered the most infectious variant in recent months.
The researchers observed under 8,700 patients carrying the delta variant and around 34,600 with the alpha variant, which was confirmed by genome sequencing.
The results concluded that patients infected with the delta variant are two times more likely to end up being hospitalized compared with patients carrying the alpha variant.
The study claimed that emergency care attendance combined with hospital admission was also higher for patients with the delta variant, showing increased use of emergency care services as well as inpatient hospitalization.
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Correlation of COVID-19 Delta Variant to Hospitalization Cases
Current evidence supports this claim. In the US alone, the daily average reached a staggering number of 100,000 hospitalizations for the first time since the winter peak earlier this year as vaccinations first became available as reported by The New York Times.
The delta variant has shown to be far more transmissible than other strains of COVID-19; Walensky noted in mid-July that the variant is “spreading with incredible efficiency and now represents more than 83% of the virus circulating the United States.”
In the United States, Florida is facing the most severe hospitalization problems, with 79 hospitalizations per 100,000 people over the past 14 days.
Other states in the South, including Alabama (61 per 100,000), Mississippi (59 per 100,000), and Georgia (58 per 100,000) are faced with the same situation.
Furthermore, these states also have some of the lowest vaccination rates: Mississippi and Alabama each has fully vaccinated just under 38% of their populations.
“If you have had COVID-19 before, please still get vaccinated,” said Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky in a statement released Friday. “This study shows you are twice as likely to get infected again if you are unvaccinated.”
“Getting the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others around you, especially as the more contagious Delta variant spreads around the country,” she added.
According to CBS News, nationwide deaths have surged to 355% since early July with Louisiana recording a high of 139 deaths in a single day on Aug. 24.