By Christopher Smith
editor@highlandsnews.com
Local internal medicine physician Dr. Richard Ellin is among several doctors across the nation are warning about the new Delta Variant of the COVID-19 virus.
Delta, a highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus strain, was first identified in India in December. It then swept rapidly through that country and Great Britain as well. The first Delta case in the United States was diagnosed a couple of months ago, in March, and it is now the dominant strain in the U.S.
“Viruses are basically like little round balls with spikes that come off of them,” Ellin said. “There are actually many different COVID-19 viruses now. These viruses mutate on a regular basis. Every time somebody is infected, and the virus starts to multiply in a human’s cells, there is a potential for random mutations. Most of those mutations occur in the spikes that come off of the core. They are worse for the virus than the original virus. So, they die off very quickly.”
Though some of the mutations die off, Ellin said sometimes the mutations can make the virus even more contagious.
“It can make it easier to infect a cell, easier to multiply faster and makes it more transmissible to other people,” Ellin said. “Now, we have several of these viruses. The original one that started infecting people in December of 2019 is called the Alpha virus. The Delta variant and a number of others are simply the same kind of virus, but different types of mutations of the proteins that come off of the virus. To give you an analogy, it would be like having a human being that is wearing a white shirt and blue pants. Then that human being changes to a red shirt and green pants. That might be a good thing for the human being and if it is, then it will persist. If it is a bad thing, then it will just die off. If you look at it like that is a human being, this is a human being and there’s another human being, but they are different, that is what these viruses are. They have enough in common that we are able to call them all COVID-19 viruses, but there are slight differences, so we call them variants.”
Can fully vaccinated people get the Delta variant?
Though it is unlikely, Ellin said there is still a chance that a fully vaccinated person could contract the Delta variant.
“Fortunately, it is very uncommon for them to get seriously ill or end up in the hospital, but they can still catch it and either can be asymptomatic or have mild symptoms,” Ellin said. “Either way, they can pass it along to other people. The problem from a public health standpoint is that the fully vaccinated people can still transfer it very easily. There are really two issues with the Delta variant. If you catch it, it might make you sick, although typically it is fairly mild, but even people who are getting mild COVID are sometimes having persistent symptoms that last for months. There is still a possibility just looking at an individual’s perspective, they could get this and will end up with some chronic symptoms. The bigger problem is that as long as people are not immunized, there is a much higher likelihood that they are going to catch it and pass it along to others.”
Should fully vaccinated people wear a mask and socially distance?
Since fully vaccinated people can still contract the Delta variant, Ellin said it is important that fully vaccinated people keep social distancing and wearing a mask in crowded places.
“This is to protect others more so than protecting yourself,” Ellin said. “Fully vaccinated people can still catch Delta and have no symptoms at all. That is why it is still important to mask up around a large group of people, wash your hands and social distance.”
What is the best protection against the Delta variant?
Hands down, Ellin said getting fully vaccinated is the best way to fight the Delta variant.
“It is so much more effective than merely maintaining social distance, wearing a mask, etc.,” Ellin said. “The reason for that is wearing a mask and social distancing was more successful six to 12 months ago because most people were doing it. Now, you can go around town and hardly see any one with a mask on. People who have been vaccinated, to a large extent rightly so, feel immune from getting this. The problem is, there are still a lot of unvaccinated people walking around and are basically playing Russian Roulette.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called this version of the virus “the fastest and fittest.” In mid-June, the CDC labeled Delta as “a variant of concern,” using a designation also given to the Alpha strain that first appeared in Great Britain, the Beta strain that first surfaced in South Africa, the two Epsilon variants first diagnosed in the U.S., and the Gamma strain identified in Brazil.