Been waiting to get a COVID-19 vaccine? You now have one more motivator to get the shot: The Delta variant. The new COVID variant is proving far more contagious than its predecessors, prompting a new wave of infections in Florida and nationwide. Dr. Nishant Anand, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of BayCare, provides information about the Delta Variant, myths and facts about the vaccine and why wearing a mask works.
For the latest on the coronavirus, visit BayCare.org/coronavirus
Selected Podcast
What to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines and the Delta Variant
Featured Speaker:
Dr. Anand is responsible for leading the BayCare physician agenda and directing efforts to improve quality, safety and efficiency of clinical care across the system. He also oversees BayCare Physician Partners (BPP), one of the first clinically integrated networks in Florida.
Dr. Anand previously served as the Senior Vice President, Chief Transformation Officer and Chief Medical Officer at Adventist Health System (AHS), where he was responsible for population health, value-based activities, clinical standardization and transformation across the organization. He was also the president and chairman of the board of the Accountable Care Organization at AHS.
Prior to his role at AHS, Dr. Anand served as Senior Vice President at Memorial Hermann Health System in Texas and Chief Medical Officer at Banner Health Network in Arizona.
Dr. Anand received a medical degree at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in Minnesota and completed the residency training in emergency medicine at the Stanford/Kaiser Emergency Medicine Program.
Nishant Anand, MD, FACEP
Nishant Anand, MD, FACEP, is Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of BayCare, a leading, not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 15 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. BayCare's inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care and wellness.Dr. Anand is responsible for leading the BayCare physician agenda and directing efforts to improve quality, safety and efficiency of clinical care across the system. He also oversees BayCare Physician Partners (BPP), one of the first clinically integrated networks in Florida.
Dr. Anand previously served as the Senior Vice President, Chief Transformation Officer and Chief Medical Officer at Adventist Health System (AHS), where he was responsible for population health, value-based activities, clinical standardization and transformation across the organization. He was also the president and chairman of the board of the Accountable Care Organization at AHS.
Prior to his role at AHS, Dr. Anand served as Senior Vice President at Memorial Hermann Health System in Texas and Chief Medical Officer at Banner Health Network in Arizona.
Dr. Anand received a medical degree at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in Minnesota and completed the residency training in emergency medicine at the Stanford/Kaiser Emergency Medicine Program.
Transcription:
What to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines and the Delta Variant
Melanie Cole (Host): If you've been waiting to get a COVID-19 vaccine, you now have one more motivator to get the shot; the Delta variant. The new COVID variant is proving far more contagious than its predecessors, prompting a new wave of infections in Florida and nationwide. Today, we're here to provide information about the Delta variant, myths and facts about the vaccine and why wearing a mask has been shown to reduce the spread.
Welcome to BayCare HealthChat. I'm Melanie Cole and joining me today is Dr. Nishant Anand. He's the Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of BayCare. Dr. Anand, it's really a pleasure to have you join us today. Tell us a little bit about why the Delta variant is such a concern. What is the Delta variant and help us to understand the latest data on this variant.
Nishant Anand, MD, FACEP (Guest): Melanie, first of all, let me thank you for taking up such an important topic, especially right now, with all that we're seeing in the community. This was something that's very important, but the Delta variant, as we've seen, there's been multiple mutations in the coronavirus that has happened over the last year.
A particular concern for us is this new Delta variant. It originally emerged out of India and has now spread to encompass a pretty broad swath of the United States. In fact, about 90% of the cases that we're seeing in our community are thought to be the Delta variant. And that number has increased significantly from just even three to four weeks ago when it was only about 50% of the cases in the community.
What's particularly worrisome about the Delta variant is what you had mentioned. It spreads incredibly easily. It's had mutations on its, on its spike protein, which is the funny little spike that you see on the cartoon pictures of the coronavirus. It has mutations and those mutations make it easier for it to spread in individuals and between individuals. This coronavirus or the Delta variant is roughly about 50% more contagious than the Alpha variant, which was the first one that we had heard about in the United Kingdom. It's got multiple mutations that are making it easier for it to infect humans and we're estimating, and this is just an estimate, I caution a little bit, but the Delta variant can spread to on average three to four individuals. Whereas the prior variants would only spread to one person or two people at a time. So, as you can imagine, it has doubled the infectivity rate. What is good news and I think this is really important for folks to take note of is those people who are fully vaccinated, they appear to have some significant protection against the Delta variant, as well as other variants that are floating out there.
There are rare breakthrough cases where people who have had the vaccine do get infected, but they do incredibly well. They are not likely to get hospitalized and they are even less likely to die than other individuals who are unvaccinated. And so I would, again, just really stress, in particular with this Delta variant that is increasingly easier to spread between individuals, infecting twice as many people as the other variants that are out there. I would highly recommend that people take the vaccine because it is proving to be effective at reducing the likelihood of hospitalization, as well as the likelihood of having death.
Host: Well, thank you so much for that comprehensive explanation, Dr. Anand. One of the things I've found interesting is at first with COVID, you know, it was affecting our very older individuals. I lost my father from COVID and he was quite older, actually 97, but this one is seeming to affect younger individuals. Am I correct about that? Tell us a little bit about the ages that we are now seeing this variant in, and also a little bit about the symptoms because Dr. Anand, we've also noticed that the symptoms while people stopped wearing masks and such, colds came back and summer colds came back and people are now not sure if, I mean, we all, none of us had been sick for a year. Right? So tell us a little bit about the symptoms and the ages that we're now seeing this variant.
Dr. Anand: Yeah, Melanie, first and foremost I'm so sorry about your loss that, you know, when this hits home, it becomes even more real for individuals. And there's been millions of people, unfortunately, across the world, who've lost loved ones. So, I'm sorry for your loss. Now, what we are seeing is what you've mentioned that in prior waves of COVID, the people who are becoming infected, were those individuals who were over the age of 75, they tended to be older. They tended to be in nursing homes. They tended to have weakened immune system. And with this Delta variant, what we're seeing is actually, you know, a change in the demographic. We're seeing individuals who are between the ages of 19 and 65 that are being admitted to our hospitals and in the community becoming infected with COVID-19.
We believe the reason that the individuals over the age of 75 are not becoming infected at the same rate is because they've been vaccinated, a higher portion of the individuals over the age of 75 have been vaccinated. Whereas the younger age demographics have not. Now when you look at symptoms and sorry, just one other thing on age is, we are also noticing that younger kids are also part of that group that are becoming infected.
And so, especially, I know a lot of us have young children who are getting ready to start school. And so it's even more important to talk to them about masks and if they're eligible to become vaccinated, to have that conversation with them. Now, the symptoms that people are manifesting with COVID-19 are similar symptoms that people have had before.
So, they may have a runny nose. They may have a cough, they may have a fever. They may just feel really fatigued and tired or have a headache, even sometimes atypical symptoms like nausea and vomiting and diarrhea can end up being COVID-19. One thing that I always caution people is if you are having symptoms, please do get checked out with all things being equal and with COVID prevalence in the community right now, if you are having symptoms that aren't typical for you like that runny nose or sore throat, muscle aches, please do talk to your doctor about potentially getting tested for COVID-19 just because it is so prevalent.
Host: That's great advice. And thank you for your kind words, Dr. Anand. Let's break up some myths because one of the reasons that we're seeing this, as you say, is this hesitancy to get the vaccine. So, let's bust up a few of those. So, people hear it from you, the Executive Vice President of BayCare. A lot of people, and I've heard this over the year, researchers rushed the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. So, its effectiveness and safety cannot be trusted. Now, as I understand it, mRNAs been around a long time. Yes?
Dr. Anand: It has. You know, the whole technology for mRNA has been around for 10 years and it's recently that it's been applied in the development of a vaccine. Now what I would, point out is that the developers of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, they didn't cut corners. There's a perception out there that they cut corners on testing for safety and efficacy. If we recall back a year ago, and we were all eagerly waiting for, when is this vaccine going to be approved?
Well keep in mind, there were clinical trials. It started with the lab studies and then it started with a little larger group and then a larger group. Now across the United States, 300 plus million doses have been administered of those vaccines.
Host: Now the side effects are one of the things that people are really afraid of. And I did the TikTok arm swing and you know, it really worked for the soreness in my arm. I can tell you that I swung my arm around in the pharmacy parking lot. And I was not really very sore at all the next day, but people are worried about the other side effects. Can you speak about those?
Dr. Anand: Yeah. Yeah. First congratulations on the TikTok arm swing. I did the same thing and it really does work, but you know, the COVID-19 vaccine can have some side effects. Most people do remarkably well. They may have some soreness. They may have a little bit of stiffness, but that's about it. The vast majority of people have some mild side effects and it might just be for a day or so. The most common side effects that we've been seeing are some discomfort where the injection occurred. Some body aches, some headaches, and it really just tends to last a day or two. And then people are completely backed to normal.
Now we do caution, if you, if people do have a history of allergies, especially severe allergies that they speak with their physician and potentially have an epi pen ready before they get the vaccine, if that applies to them.
Host: Well, that's a really great point that you make. Now, this one sort of astounds me or confuses me a little bit. Some people have said that the COVID-19 vaccine enters your cells and changes your DNA. I don't even think we have that technology.
Dr. Anand: Yes. So there is a misconception that the vaccine can come in and change your DNA and that's completely incorrect. What the vaccine manufacturers did is they took a portion, just a small portion of the spike protein of the virus and they've created the blueprints for that. Those blueprints get injected into your arm and they, with the support of your cells, they produce just the protein, your antibodies, which are thinking about them as the natural defenders for your body. They see that spike protein. They recognize it as being foreign and they go ahead and they attack it. Now in the case of the vaccine, that's a small one-time attack, but the next time that the protein is seen, it attacks with significant ferocity, which allows the body to fight off the infection.
Host: Here's another one, the vaccines are not effective against all the viral variants of COVID-19. So, it's not worth getting now. We see the flu change every year and we see the flu vaccine change to reflect what's going on in other parts of the world. Am I correct with this, Dr. Anand, so this is something that is always evolving, but it does work and it has been proven to help reduce the severity?
Dr. Anand: Now Melanie you're absolutely correct. Now, one thing I do want to point out though, is when you look at the effectiveness of the COVID vaccines, the Pfizer and Moderna in particular, they've been found to be 90 to 95% effective against the COVID virus. When you look at typical flu vaccines that are given year in, year out, they tend to be somewhere in the 40 to 70% range.
So, these vaccines are highly effective. I mean, being in that order of 90 to 95, and what we're seeing as multiple variants are making their way across the world, we're seeing that there is still some baseline protection that even these first-generation vaccines are actually providing against these variants that are out there. So, they are remarkable again, 90 to 95% effective, which is well above and beyond what we see with typical flu vaccines.
Host: I still have a few more questions for you, Dr. Anand, but this is the last myth here. Getting the COVID-19 vaccine may lead to infertility.
Dr. Anand: Time to time, I hear about this myth and it's been proven through research studies that it's completely incorrect. The vaccine has been studied both in women who were pregnant as well as men where they looked at counts, sperm counts before and after getting the vaccines. So far, there has been no indication that there's any effect on fertility.
Host: Dr. Anand, do you think we'll have a booster to the current vaccines to include the variants like we're seeing? Do you think it's going to be something that we may see more often to include in the new strains every year? I mentioned the flu before.
Dr. Anand: Yeah, and I'll just put a note in here that I can only speak based on my beliefs and what I believe based on all the evidence and research that I've seen is that we will need boosters. There is likely to be boosters approved for individuals that are immune compromised, even if they have received the whole vaccination series before.
And what I mean by immune compromised is that they have a weakened immune system because they've had something like a transplant or they're on medications that weakens their immune system, those individuals are likely to be getting a booster shot relatively soon. I think it will be announced in the next couple of weeks.
We're also seeing in other countries such as Israel and other parts of the world where they're actually administering a third booster shot. So, what we believe at this time is that boosters will likely be needed. They'll have to be phased. First being given for individuals that have a weakened immune system. Second, if we follow suit with some of the other parts of the world, we're seeing that individuals over the age of 65 are next in line to get a booster. But my belief is that as we go forward, we will likely need boosters as we go into each new year that will cover the typical variants that we're seeing at that time.
Host: One of the biggest issues that we seem to be looking at right now is this issue of masks. And while public health has been politicized in a way, if you're vaccinated now, even due to the variant, the World Health Organization is telling people to wear masks. Can you tell us why masks work? I mean, doctors have been using them for a very long time in the OR for a reason. Right? Tell us a little bit about masks and why you're encouraging people to still wear masks, even if you've been vaccinated at this point.
Dr. Anand: Yeah, Melanie you give a great example. So, masks had been around for a long time. Think about how long we've been doing surgeries on individuals. Then every time you show up in the operating room, people are wearing masks. Imagine walking into an operating room or being wheeled into an operating room suite and looking up, and the surgeons and the whole team are not wearing masks.
They work. We've seen time and time again that they reduce the likelihood of infecting other individuals. If someone happens to have COVID, it provides a protective barrier. Now some masks are better than others, the surgical mask or the medical grade masks are much better than the cloth mask, but they both work. The N95 mask, which people heard about, which are the real tight fitting ones, they also work and they provide an extra layer of protection. The analogy I always like to give is, think about being in a car and when you just get into your car and you have a seatbelt on, which is in my analogy would be similar to getting a vaccine. You get that extra layer of protection. You're less likely to be thrown from the car and heaven forbid, have a very severe injury from that.
Now you add an airbag which in this example would be a mask. You have that extra layer of protection. So, you're even less likely to have a severe injury. So, I think it's additive. Even if you have been vaccinated, when there are high COVID counts in the community, a lot of COVID out there, it behooves you to wear masks.
It also helps you, if you've been vaccinated from bringing home COVID to loved ones who may not be able to be vaccinated. I have three young kids, one who, a 13 year old who's been able to be vaccinated, but two kids who are not eligible right now, they're 11 and eight years old. And so, I wear a mask when I'm out and around other folks, because I do not want to get infected and bring it home to my children.
Host: What great information so important that we're giving here today, Dr. Anand, and your surgical analogy really hits the mark. When you think of being wheeled in, you go running for the door. I'd like you to wrap it up for us with your best summary, about what we know about the Delta variant, the severity of this new contagion version of COVID-19, why vaccination is our best defense and how, while we continue to make progress, masks are key. We live in a community. We have to help each other out. So, please wrap it up for us.
Dr. Anand: Sure Melanie. You know, as I start to think about things, the Delta variant is here. It is here. The case counts are increasing across the United States and we have to take it seriously. It is highly contagious and it spreads at twice the rate of some of the other variants that are out there. And it's still continuing to increase. We do have effective treatments. We know what works. Three things always work. One is the vaccine. The vaccine is proving to be effective at preventing severe complications, like hospitalization and death. So, please get vaccinated, if you have not been vaccinated. Second wear a mask when you're around individuals, especially if they're outside of your household, those masks will help you. They will protect you and they will protect loved ones that potentially may become infected. And third social distancing, when possible, try to meet outside or outdoors where there's a lot more ventilation. Try not to go to areas where there's large gatherings as we go forward. All these things, these three things will help us as we make it through this wave of COVID. Now, finally we are all, I think at a point where we are exhausted with COVID and coronavirus, we want to get back to life being a little bit more normal, but it's going to take us all working together. It's going to take us all focusing on doing what's right, being vaccinated, wearing a mask and social distancing when we need to, in order to get through this.
What I like to always kind of end with is, you know, when you have a lot of infections out there and a lot of infected people, the virus can actually mutate and it only takes one time to actually mutate and then become a completely new virus that can infect folks again and again. And so what we have to do is work together. And we have to put out this wildfire, that's growing out there with this Delta variant so that we don't have a heaven forbid, another variant that emerges from this and by doing that, and by all getting vaccinated, we can go back to our lives.
Host: Beautifully said, Dr. Anand. I can hear the passion in your voice and listeners, please share this very important episode with your friends and family on your social channels, because that way we're learning from the experts at BayCare together. And you just heard it from the Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of BayCare. This is such important information. Please share this show far and wide. For the latest on the Coronavirus, please visit our website at BayCare.org/Coronavirus. That concludes this episode of BayCare HealthChat.
Thank you so much, Dr. Anand, for joining us today. I'm Melanie Cole. Take care.
What to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines and the Delta Variant
Melanie Cole (Host): If you've been waiting to get a COVID-19 vaccine, you now have one more motivator to get the shot; the Delta variant. The new COVID variant is proving far more contagious than its predecessors, prompting a new wave of infections in Florida and nationwide. Today, we're here to provide information about the Delta variant, myths and facts about the vaccine and why wearing a mask has been shown to reduce the spread.
Welcome to BayCare HealthChat. I'm Melanie Cole and joining me today is Dr. Nishant Anand. He's the Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of BayCare. Dr. Anand, it's really a pleasure to have you join us today. Tell us a little bit about why the Delta variant is such a concern. What is the Delta variant and help us to understand the latest data on this variant.
Nishant Anand, MD, FACEP (Guest): Melanie, first of all, let me thank you for taking up such an important topic, especially right now, with all that we're seeing in the community. This was something that's very important, but the Delta variant, as we've seen, there's been multiple mutations in the coronavirus that has happened over the last year.
A particular concern for us is this new Delta variant. It originally emerged out of India and has now spread to encompass a pretty broad swath of the United States. In fact, about 90% of the cases that we're seeing in our community are thought to be the Delta variant. And that number has increased significantly from just even three to four weeks ago when it was only about 50% of the cases in the community.
What's particularly worrisome about the Delta variant is what you had mentioned. It spreads incredibly easily. It's had mutations on its, on its spike protein, which is the funny little spike that you see on the cartoon pictures of the coronavirus. It has mutations and those mutations make it easier for it to spread in individuals and between individuals. This coronavirus or the Delta variant is roughly about 50% more contagious than the Alpha variant, which was the first one that we had heard about in the United Kingdom. It's got multiple mutations that are making it easier for it to infect humans and we're estimating, and this is just an estimate, I caution a little bit, but the Delta variant can spread to on average three to four individuals. Whereas the prior variants would only spread to one person or two people at a time. So, as you can imagine, it has doubled the infectivity rate. What is good news and I think this is really important for folks to take note of is those people who are fully vaccinated, they appear to have some significant protection against the Delta variant, as well as other variants that are floating out there.
There are rare breakthrough cases where people who have had the vaccine do get infected, but they do incredibly well. They are not likely to get hospitalized and they are even less likely to die than other individuals who are unvaccinated. And so I would, again, just really stress, in particular with this Delta variant that is increasingly easier to spread between individuals, infecting twice as many people as the other variants that are out there. I would highly recommend that people take the vaccine because it is proving to be effective at reducing the likelihood of hospitalization, as well as the likelihood of having death.
Host: Well, thank you so much for that comprehensive explanation, Dr. Anand. One of the things I've found interesting is at first with COVID, you know, it was affecting our very older individuals. I lost my father from COVID and he was quite older, actually 97, but this one is seeming to affect younger individuals. Am I correct about that? Tell us a little bit about the ages that we are now seeing this variant in, and also a little bit about the symptoms because Dr. Anand, we've also noticed that the symptoms while people stopped wearing masks and such, colds came back and summer colds came back and people are now not sure if, I mean, we all, none of us had been sick for a year. Right? So tell us a little bit about the symptoms and the ages that we're now seeing this variant.
Dr. Anand: Yeah, Melanie, first and foremost I'm so sorry about your loss that, you know, when this hits home, it becomes even more real for individuals. And there's been millions of people, unfortunately, across the world, who've lost loved ones. So, I'm sorry for your loss. Now, what we are seeing is what you've mentioned that in prior waves of COVID, the people who are becoming infected, were those individuals who were over the age of 75, they tended to be older. They tended to be in nursing homes. They tended to have weakened immune system. And with this Delta variant, what we're seeing is actually, you know, a change in the demographic. We're seeing individuals who are between the ages of 19 and 65 that are being admitted to our hospitals and in the community becoming infected with COVID-19.
We believe the reason that the individuals over the age of 75 are not becoming infected at the same rate is because they've been vaccinated, a higher portion of the individuals over the age of 75 have been vaccinated. Whereas the younger age demographics have not. Now when you look at symptoms and sorry, just one other thing on age is, we are also noticing that younger kids are also part of that group that are becoming infected.
And so, especially, I know a lot of us have young children who are getting ready to start school. And so it's even more important to talk to them about masks and if they're eligible to become vaccinated, to have that conversation with them. Now, the symptoms that people are manifesting with COVID-19 are similar symptoms that people have had before.
So, they may have a runny nose. They may have a cough, they may have a fever. They may just feel really fatigued and tired or have a headache, even sometimes atypical symptoms like nausea and vomiting and diarrhea can end up being COVID-19. One thing that I always caution people is if you are having symptoms, please do get checked out with all things being equal and with COVID prevalence in the community right now, if you are having symptoms that aren't typical for you like that runny nose or sore throat, muscle aches, please do talk to your doctor about potentially getting tested for COVID-19 just because it is so prevalent.
Host: That's great advice. And thank you for your kind words, Dr. Anand. Let's break up some myths because one of the reasons that we're seeing this, as you say, is this hesitancy to get the vaccine. So, let's bust up a few of those. So, people hear it from you, the Executive Vice President of BayCare. A lot of people, and I've heard this over the year, researchers rushed the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. So, its effectiveness and safety cannot be trusted. Now, as I understand it, mRNAs been around a long time. Yes?
Dr. Anand: It has. You know, the whole technology for mRNA has been around for 10 years and it's recently that it's been applied in the development of a vaccine. Now what I would, point out is that the developers of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, they didn't cut corners. There's a perception out there that they cut corners on testing for safety and efficacy. If we recall back a year ago, and we were all eagerly waiting for, when is this vaccine going to be approved?
Well keep in mind, there were clinical trials. It started with the lab studies and then it started with a little larger group and then a larger group. Now across the United States, 300 plus million doses have been administered of those vaccines.
Host: Now the side effects are one of the things that people are really afraid of. And I did the TikTok arm swing and you know, it really worked for the soreness in my arm. I can tell you that I swung my arm around in the pharmacy parking lot. And I was not really very sore at all the next day, but people are worried about the other side effects. Can you speak about those?
Dr. Anand: Yeah. Yeah. First congratulations on the TikTok arm swing. I did the same thing and it really does work, but you know, the COVID-19 vaccine can have some side effects. Most people do remarkably well. They may have some soreness. They may have a little bit of stiffness, but that's about it. The vast majority of people have some mild side effects and it might just be for a day or so. The most common side effects that we've been seeing are some discomfort where the injection occurred. Some body aches, some headaches, and it really just tends to last a day or two. And then people are completely backed to normal.
Now we do caution, if you, if people do have a history of allergies, especially severe allergies that they speak with their physician and potentially have an epi pen ready before they get the vaccine, if that applies to them.
Host: Well, that's a really great point that you make. Now, this one sort of astounds me or confuses me a little bit. Some people have said that the COVID-19 vaccine enters your cells and changes your DNA. I don't even think we have that technology.
Dr. Anand: Yes. So there is a misconception that the vaccine can come in and change your DNA and that's completely incorrect. What the vaccine manufacturers did is they took a portion, just a small portion of the spike protein of the virus and they've created the blueprints for that. Those blueprints get injected into your arm and they, with the support of your cells, they produce just the protein, your antibodies, which are thinking about them as the natural defenders for your body. They see that spike protein. They recognize it as being foreign and they go ahead and they attack it. Now in the case of the vaccine, that's a small one-time attack, but the next time that the protein is seen, it attacks with significant ferocity, which allows the body to fight off the infection.
Host: Here's another one, the vaccines are not effective against all the viral variants of COVID-19. So, it's not worth getting now. We see the flu change every year and we see the flu vaccine change to reflect what's going on in other parts of the world. Am I correct with this, Dr. Anand, so this is something that is always evolving, but it does work and it has been proven to help reduce the severity?
Dr. Anand: Now Melanie you're absolutely correct. Now, one thing I do want to point out though, is when you look at the effectiveness of the COVID vaccines, the Pfizer and Moderna in particular, they've been found to be 90 to 95% effective against the COVID virus. When you look at typical flu vaccines that are given year in, year out, they tend to be somewhere in the 40 to 70% range.
So, these vaccines are highly effective. I mean, being in that order of 90 to 95, and what we're seeing as multiple variants are making their way across the world, we're seeing that there is still some baseline protection that even these first-generation vaccines are actually providing against these variants that are out there. So, they are remarkable again, 90 to 95% effective, which is well above and beyond what we see with typical flu vaccines.
Host: I still have a few more questions for you, Dr. Anand, but this is the last myth here. Getting the COVID-19 vaccine may lead to infertility.
Dr. Anand: Time to time, I hear about this myth and it's been proven through research studies that it's completely incorrect. The vaccine has been studied both in women who were pregnant as well as men where they looked at counts, sperm counts before and after getting the vaccines. So far, there has been no indication that there's any effect on fertility.
Host: Dr. Anand, do you think we'll have a booster to the current vaccines to include the variants like we're seeing? Do you think it's going to be something that we may see more often to include in the new strains every year? I mentioned the flu before.
Dr. Anand: Yeah, and I'll just put a note in here that I can only speak based on my beliefs and what I believe based on all the evidence and research that I've seen is that we will need boosters. There is likely to be boosters approved for individuals that are immune compromised, even if they have received the whole vaccination series before.
And what I mean by immune compromised is that they have a weakened immune system because they've had something like a transplant or they're on medications that weakens their immune system, those individuals are likely to be getting a booster shot relatively soon. I think it will be announced in the next couple of weeks.
We're also seeing in other countries such as Israel and other parts of the world where they're actually administering a third booster shot. So, what we believe at this time is that boosters will likely be needed. They'll have to be phased. First being given for individuals that have a weakened immune system. Second, if we follow suit with some of the other parts of the world, we're seeing that individuals over the age of 65 are next in line to get a booster. But my belief is that as we go forward, we will likely need boosters as we go into each new year that will cover the typical variants that we're seeing at that time.
Host: One of the biggest issues that we seem to be looking at right now is this issue of masks. And while public health has been politicized in a way, if you're vaccinated now, even due to the variant, the World Health Organization is telling people to wear masks. Can you tell us why masks work? I mean, doctors have been using them for a very long time in the OR for a reason. Right? Tell us a little bit about masks and why you're encouraging people to still wear masks, even if you've been vaccinated at this point.
Dr. Anand: Yeah, Melanie you give a great example. So, masks had been around for a long time. Think about how long we've been doing surgeries on individuals. Then every time you show up in the operating room, people are wearing masks. Imagine walking into an operating room or being wheeled into an operating room suite and looking up, and the surgeons and the whole team are not wearing masks.
They work. We've seen time and time again that they reduce the likelihood of infecting other individuals. If someone happens to have COVID, it provides a protective barrier. Now some masks are better than others, the surgical mask or the medical grade masks are much better than the cloth mask, but they both work. The N95 mask, which people heard about, which are the real tight fitting ones, they also work and they provide an extra layer of protection. The analogy I always like to give is, think about being in a car and when you just get into your car and you have a seatbelt on, which is in my analogy would be similar to getting a vaccine. You get that extra layer of protection. You're less likely to be thrown from the car and heaven forbid, have a very severe injury from that.
Now you add an airbag which in this example would be a mask. You have that extra layer of protection. So, you're even less likely to have a severe injury. So, I think it's additive. Even if you have been vaccinated, when there are high COVID counts in the community, a lot of COVID out there, it behooves you to wear masks.
It also helps you, if you've been vaccinated from bringing home COVID to loved ones who may not be able to be vaccinated. I have three young kids, one who, a 13 year old who's been able to be vaccinated, but two kids who are not eligible right now, they're 11 and eight years old. And so, I wear a mask when I'm out and around other folks, because I do not want to get infected and bring it home to my children.
Host: What great information so important that we're giving here today, Dr. Anand, and your surgical analogy really hits the mark. When you think of being wheeled in, you go running for the door. I'd like you to wrap it up for us with your best summary, about what we know about the Delta variant, the severity of this new contagion version of COVID-19, why vaccination is our best defense and how, while we continue to make progress, masks are key. We live in a community. We have to help each other out. So, please wrap it up for us.
Dr. Anand: Sure Melanie. You know, as I start to think about things, the Delta variant is here. It is here. The case counts are increasing across the United States and we have to take it seriously. It is highly contagious and it spreads at twice the rate of some of the other variants that are out there. And it's still continuing to increase. We do have effective treatments. We know what works. Three things always work. One is the vaccine. The vaccine is proving to be effective at preventing severe complications, like hospitalization and death. So, please get vaccinated, if you have not been vaccinated. Second wear a mask when you're around individuals, especially if they're outside of your household, those masks will help you. They will protect you and they will protect loved ones that potentially may become infected. And third social distancing, when possible, try to meet outside or outdoors where there's a lot more ventilation. Try not to go to areas where there's large gatherings as we go forward. All these things, these three things will help us as we make it through this wave of COVID. Now, finally we are all, I think at a point where we are exhausted with COVID and coronavirus, we want to get back to life being a little bit more normal, but it's going to take us all working together. It's going to take us all focusing on doing what's right, being vaccinated, wearing a mask and social distancing when we need to, in order to get through this.
What I like to always kind of end with is, you know, when you have a lot of infections out there and a lot of infected people, the virus can actually mutate and it only takes one time to actually mutate and then become a completely new virus that can infect folks again and again. And so what we have to do is work together. And we have to put out this wildfire, that's growing out there with this Delta variant so that we don't have a heaven forbid, another variant that emerges from this and by doing that, and by all getting vaccinated, we can go back to our lives.
Host: Beautifully said, Dr. Anand. I can hear the passion in your voice and listeners, please share this very important episode with your friends and family on your social channels, because that way we're learning from the experts at BayCare together. And you just heard it from the Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of BayCare. This is such important information. Please share this show far and wide. For the latest on the Coronavirus, please visit our website at BayCare.org/Coronavirus. That concludes this episode of BayCare HealthChat.
Thank you so much, Dr. Anand, for joining us today. I'm Melanie Cole. Take care.