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BREAKING
Israeli media: A senior European Union official hinted that 'Israel' would be held accountable for violating international law in Gaza
Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida: The losses incurred by the occupation today in Khan Younis and Jabalia are an extension of a series of top-tier operations
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: The invading Israeli force is digging a trench and erecting earthen berms, amid detected activity suggesting preparations to install espionage equipment
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: An Israeli force breaches the "technical fence" in the Wazzani area
Israeli media: 4 Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Government Media Office: Starved citizens are tempted to head to American-Israeli centers and then are deliberately shot
Gaza Government Media Office: The toll at US-Israeli aid distribution centers is as follows: 110 martyred, 583 wounded, and 9 missing
Gaza Government Media Office: 8 starved civilians were killed and 61 others were injured by the gunfire of Israeli occupation forces and an American security company in Rafah
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Three martyrs, injured in Israeli drone strike on phone charging station west of Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Four martyrs, dozens of injured as IOF open fire on civilians near GHF facility west of Rafah, southern Gaza.

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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