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BREAKING
Israeli media: One Israeli soldier killed in a "security incident" in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip
Israeli media: Intense exchange of fire in Khan Younis
Israeli media platform reports on a tough incident in Gaza still under media censorship
Iran's judiciary says 71 killed in Israeli strike on Evin Prison
Trump: Make the deal, get the hostages back
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 67 Palestinians were martyred in 24 hours in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip
Israeli media: For the first time, Prime Minister Netanyahu is signaling that he wants to end the war on Gaza
Israeli Channel 12, citing an American source: We want to have entered a path toward captive release and a ceasefire before Netanyahu arrives in Washington
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One martyr and two injured in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a motorcycle in the town of Mahrouna
Al Mayadeen correspondent to Southern Lebanon: An Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle between the towns of Jwayya and Mahrouna.

Why Is Delta More Transmissible?

  • By Al Mayadeen
  • Source: Agencies
  • 8 Aug 2021 14:29
  • 1 Shares
2 Min Read

While a recent study indicated that the Delta variant of the coronavirus is the most contagious version of the coronavirus worldwide, the good news is that our current crop of COVID-19 jabs is proved to be relatively effective against it.

  • x
  •  Delta was first discovered in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
    Delta was first discovered in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

The Delta variant was previously known as the “Indian variant”, as it was first discovered in the Indian state of Maharashtra in late 2020 and has since spread throughout the country, displacing the Alpha variant and other pre-existing lineages of COVID-19, according to a recent study.

It’s The Most Contagious 

Scientists have recently reached an agreement after months of data collection, revealing that the delta variant of the coronavirus is the most contagious version of the coronavirus worldwide. It spreads two to three times faster than the original virus and is currently dominating the outbreak in the United States, accounting for more than 80% of COVID cases.

  • Delta variant has more syncytia than SARS-CoV-2
    Delta variant has more syncytia than SARS-CoV-2

The Delta is also more effective at cell destruction due to a mutation at position 681 of its spike protein, which is rapidly becoming common in other variants around the world and is thought to be an evolutionary game changer. 

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This P681R mutation facilitates Delta and related Kappa variants' invasion of the host cell, by fusing infected cells into structures known as a syncytium.

Kei Sato, a virologist at The University of Tokyo in Japan explained that “in cell culture experiments, we discovered that the Delta variant has more syncytia than SARS-CoV-2.” 

The Delta variant's spike protein has also experienced multiple mutations, which seem to improve the virus's ability to bind to the ACE2 receptor and evade the immune response.

Vaccines Still Work Well 

A new report stressed that only a complete dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can protect against this deadly variant, which is now dominant in the US, UK, and more than a dozen other countries.

  • Vaccines can effectively slow down the contagious pandemic
    Vaccines can effectively slow down the contagious pandemic

According to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccines are likely to protect against Delta, though not as well as they did against previous variants.

Even though vaccines can effectively slow down the contagious pandemic by increasing herd immunity, precautionary measures such as social distancing and masking are proven policies along with vaccination in curbing the spread of the virus.

  • delta variant
  • delta
  • COVID-19
  • COVID-19 Vaccines
  • Transmissible

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