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COVID Update - Delta Variant
Robert Healy MD gives us a COVID Update - Delta Variant. He helps us to understand the latest data on the delta variant of concern. He explains the difference from other variants in terms of infectivity, symptoms and age groups, and he addresses concerns about vaccine status and variants.
Featuring:
Learn more about Robert Healy, MD
Robert Healy, MD
Robert Healy, MD is the Chief Medical Quality Officer.Learn more about Robert Healy, MD
Transcription:
Melanie Cole (Host): Welcome to Expert Insights with the Carle Foundation Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole, and I invite you to listen as we give a COVID update, and we talk about the Delta variant. Joining me is Dr. Robert Healy. He's the Chief Quality Officer at the Carle Foundation Hospital. Dr. Healy, it's a pleasure to have you join us again today. You're a really great guest with so much good information. So, tell us now about COVID and the Delta variant. Help us to understand the latest data on this. What should we be concerned with and tell us the difference from other variants.
Robert Healy, MD (Guest): Sure. Well, thank you. It's great to be talking to you again as well. And I think, yeah, this is maybe the third or fourth time we've talked about COVID and I think last time I said we could probably do an update every week and it's slowed down a little bit, but it's still true that new things keep happening. And the latest is the talk of the variance. And what does that mean? So, I think the, the important thing is to note that, these are all still the same virus. They all still cause the same infection, which is COVID-19, but like any virus, like any living organism, these viruses can mutate. And a lot of times that means they don't do very well, but sometimes it means they gain some kind of functions such as being easier to latch onto ourselves and our nose and our lungs, or to even create more virus particles that can then spread to others more easily.
And I think that's what we're looking at here with the Delta variant. So, the Delta variant started in India and it really took off because it's easier to transmit. It kind of took off and just my mathematical properties, if it's easier to transmit, it's going to become the dominant virus, infecting people in that area. So, it took off in India. It took off in the UK and it's now thought to be in over 100 different countries. So, it's really turning out to be the most efficient of the variants of the COVID-19 virus.
Host: Yikes. So, since you're saying that it is more infective, right, it transmits more easily, is that what you're saying?
Dr. Healy: Exactly and the numbers, it seems like it's about probably two or two and a half times more likely to be transmitted than the original plain old COVID-19. It's probably about half as much more efficient in transmission than the Alpha variant, which was the one from the UK that we were worried about a few months ago. In March, that was the dominant variant in the United States, for instance. But now it's quickly changed. And given that it's more easily caught and transmitted, the Delta variant is now thought to be over 80% of the new infections in this country, as of this week.
Host: Does it have different symptoms or since it's plain old COVID, is it pretty much the same?
Dr. Healy: A lot of the symptoms are the same. There seems to be more of a trend toward it being, unfortunately, just like a common cold, so sore throat, runny nose, stuffed up nose, but the other symptoms are present as well. A loss of taste or smell, headache can occur with it. Sometimes nausea and like the original virus, it can cause different symptoms kind of, depending on what age group you're looking at.
Host: What age group are we looking at? Because now we're hearing more and more in the news and media that younger people and even these that are unvaccinated because they're not in the age groups of vaccinations are coming up with this. What age groups are we seeing this in?
Dr. Healy: The way to think about this is this really is a pandemic for the unvaccinated. So, if you haven't either had COVID before, or received both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer or the single dose of Johnson & Johnson, you're at risk to catch this virus. And like we talked about earlier, it spreads really easily. So, in most counties, in most states, the older you are, the more likely you are to be vaccinated, which is great news because a lot of the deaths were happening in the 65 and above and 50 and above age groups. So, a lot of our older population has been vaccinated. Because of that, and possibly because of something that the Delta variant has, it seems to be affecting younger people more. But it's hard to know if that's because of the variation or if it's just because the younger people are the dominant unvaccinated people in out communities.
Host: So, what about those of us that are vaccinated? How much do we know about the current vaccines? You just mentioned them. Do you think that we'll need boosters for this and will it be in your opinion, like the flu where the strains as they change and mutate are going to have to be adapted to the new vaccines or the boosters as we get them. What do you think is going to happen?
Dr. Healy: Yeah, it's really a great question. No one really knows the answer yet, because for one reason, there hasn't been enough time yet to see what these vaccines will do, and then what the virus will do in response. As we talked about, the virus will make variations based on random mutations that occur normally.
One thing I wanted to answer, not quite answering your question yet, but talk about is, the way the WHO and the CDC has things divided up is there's variants of interest, variants of concern and variants of high consequence. And in that middle group, which is where Delta is, that's where the Alpha is, which was the UK variant. Beta which started in South Africa and Gamma which started in Japan and Brazil. What we don't have yet is variants of high consequence. And what that would be is a variant that was something that broke through the vaccine protection. So, luckily the vaccines still protect us against Delta and probably a little less than it did against the original virus, but still very good protection for a vaccine. Again, the key is to be vaccinated. I don't say that enough. So, I'll say it some more. If we're vaccinated, we're protected against serious illness resulting in hospitalization or death from this Delta variant and the other variants.
But we can still get infected. So, a vaccine will protect us. We might get the Delta variant. We might not have symptoms or have just very minimal symptoms. Unfortunately, we could possibly still transmit that virus to others who are unvaccinated. It's kind of a wake up call. We've relaxed a lot of things. We are going maskless in a lot of our lives right now. But I think the important thing is what the WHO says, and what CDC says is if you're going to be inside, especially inside in crowded areas with not a lot of air circulation, if there's people there that aren't vaccinated or at risk if they became infected, we probably should be masking.
Host: Well, that was going to be my next question. So, in what cases do you feel we should be masking as for myself personally, I'm masking everywhere. I'm going into a grocery store with a mask on. If I do go to a restaurant, I'm wearing a mask. I mean, that's just me, but what do you want people to know about that?
Dr. Healy: I think there's no real good ultimate answer to this question, which is frustrating because, if you're like this, but I want to know the rules. Hey, if I didn't even wear a mask, I'll wear a mask, if I don't need to fine, I don't need to. I'm fully vaccinated. And I still wear a mask when I go to the store for grocery shopping.
If I were to go into another type of store, I would still mask. And part of that is just because I think it's a good idea to show that masking is the norm now. And, even though I protected I'm trying to protect others. Not wearing a mask, what the risk is, but we don't know the science yet about how much a risk this is. The risk is that even though I'm fully vaccinated, I might get the virus. I might be able to spread it, but I don't even know that I have it. So, that's the real unknown about this. But I think masking, if you're comfortable with it, which a lot of us are now, it's the new normal. I think when you're outside, no need for a mask. If you're inside, you're going to be around people you don't know. They may or may not be vaccinated. They may or may not wear a mask, based on their vaccine status. It's probably a good idea to put your mask on.
Host: I agree with you there. And as we wrap up, what an important episode we've got today, what would you like us to know about the Delta variant and your thoughts about what you see happening in the future and to emphasize the importance of getting vaccinated?
Dr. Healy: I think the Delta variant is a warning for us that there will be more variants. The more people that get infected, the more chance there are of other variants developing from those random mutations that occur. And the next one may be a variant that doesn't get any protection from the vaccine. Meaning even if you're vaccinated, it's going to be a new infection for us. That's kind of a nightmare scenario because if there's a variant of high consequence, like the WHO and CDC call them, that escapes the vaccine, then we're back to the beginning. We're back to coronavirus that none of us are able to fight off and we're back to masking and distancing and staying inside.
So, the Delta variant, it is a warning for us to pay attention, vaccinate, decrease the number of people who get infected, therefore decreasing the number of chances this next variant might escape the vaccine.
Host: Very well said, Dr. Healy. Great guest as always. Thank you so much for your expertise today. That concludes this episode of Expert Insights with the Carle Foundation Hospital. For a listing of Carle providers and to view Carle sponsored educational activities, please visit our website at carleconnect.com for more information.
Share this show with your friends and family, on your social channels, because we need to hear from the experts at the Carle Foundation Hospital, this really important and vital information. I'm Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Melanie Cole (Host): Welcome to Expert Insights with the Carle Foundation Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole, and I invite you to listen as we give a COVID update, and we talk about the Delta variant. Joining me is Dr. Robert Healy. He's the Chief Quality Officer at the Carle Foundation Hospital. Dr. Healy, it's a pleasure to have you join us again today. You're a really great guest with so much good information. So, tell us now about COVID and the Delta variant. Help us to understand the latest data on this. What should we be concerned with and tell us the difference from other variants.
Robert Healy, MD (Guest): Sure. Well, thank you. It's great to be talking to you again as well. And I think, yeah, this is maybe the third or fourth time we've talked about COVID and I think last time I said we could probably do an update every week and it's slowed down a little bit, but it's still true that new things keep happening. And the latest is the talk of the variance. And what does that mean? So, I think the, the important thing is to note that, these are all still the same virus. They all still cause the same infection, which is COVID-19, but like any virus, like any living organism, these viruses can mutate. And a lot of times that means they don't do very well, but sometimes it means they gain some kind of functions such as being easier to latch onto ourselves and our nose and our lungs, or to even create more virus particles that can then spread to others more easily.
And I think that's what we're looking at here with the Delta variant. So, the Delta variant started in India and it really took off because it's easier to transmit. It kind of took off and just my mathematical properties, if it's easier to transmit, it's going to become the dominant virus, infecting people in that area. So, it took off in India. It took off in the UK and it's now thought to be in over 100 different countries. So, it's really turning out to be the most efficient of the variants of the COVID-19 virus.
Host: Yikes. So, since you're saying that it is more infective, right, it transmits more easily, is that what you're saying?
Dr. Healy: Exactly and the numbers, it seems like it's about probably two or two and a half times more likely to be transmitted than the original plain old COVID-19. It's probably about half as much more efficient in transmission than the Alpha variant, which was the one from the UK that we were worried about a few months ago. In March, that was the dominant variant in the United States, for instance. But now it's quickly changed. And given that it's more easily caught and transmitted, the Delta variant is now thought to be over 80% of the new infections in this country, as of this week.
Host: Does it have different symptoms or since it's plain old COVID, is it pretty much the same?
Dr. Healy: A lot of the symptoms are the same. There seems to be more of a trend toward it being, unfortunately, just like a common cold, so sore throat, runny nose, stuffed up nose, but the other symptoms are present as well. A loss of taste or smell, headache can occur with it. Sometimes nausea and like the original virus, it can cause different symptoms kind of, depending on what age group you're looking at.
Host: What age group are we looking at? Because now we're hearing more and more in the news and media that younger people and even these that are unvaccinated because they're not in the age groups of vaccinations are coming up with this. What age groups are we seeing this in?
Dr. Healy: The way to think about this is this really is a pandemic for the unvaccinated. So, if you haven't either had COVID before, or received both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer or the single dose of Johnson & Johnson, you're at risk to catch this virus. And like we talked about earlier, it spreads really easily. So, in most counties, in most states, the older you are, the more likely you are to be vaccinated, which is great news because a lot of the deaths were happening in the 65 and above and 50 and above age groups. So, a lot of our older population has been vaccinated. Because of that, and possibly because of something that the Delta variant has, it seems to be affecting younger people more. But it's hard to know if that's because of the variation or if it's just because the younger people are the dominant unvaccinated people in out communities.
Host: So, what about those of us that are vaccinated? How much do we know about the current vaccines? You just mentioned them. Do you think that we'll need boosters for this and will it be in your opinion, like the flu where the strains as they change and mutate are going to have to be adapted to the new vaccines or the boosters as we get them. What do you think is going to happen?
Dr. Healy: Yeah, it's really a great question. No one really knows the answer yet, because for one reason, there hasn't been enough time yet to see what these vaccines will do, and then what the virus will do in response. As we talked about, the virus will make variations based on random mutations that occur normally.
One thing I wanted to answer, not quite answering your question yet, but talk about is, the way the WHO and the CDC has things divided up is there's variants of interest, variants of concern and variants of high consequence. And in that middle group, which is where Delta is, that's where the Alpha is, which was the UK variant. Beta which started in South Africa and Gamma which started in Japan and Brazil. What we don't have yet is variants of high consequence. And what that would be is a variant that was something that broke through the vaccine protection. So, luckily the vaccines still protect us against Delta and probably a little less than it did against the original virus, but still very good protection for a vaccine. Again, the key is to be vaccinated. I don't say that enough. So, I'll say it some more. If we're vaccinated, we're protected against serious illness resulting in hospitalization or death from this Delta variant and the other variants.
But we can still get infected. So, a vaccine will protect us. We might get the Delta variant. We might not have symptoms or have just very minimal symptoms. Unfortunately, we could possibly still transmit that virus to others who are unvaccinated. It's kind of a wake up call. We've relaxed a lot of things. We are going maskless in a lot of our lives right now. But I think the important thing is what the WHO says, and what CDC says is if you're going to be inside, especially inside in crowded areas with not a lot of air circulation, if there's people there that aren't vaccinated or at risk if they became infected, we probably should be masking.
Host: Well, that was going to be my next question. So, in what cases do you feel we should be masking as for myself personally, I'm masking everywhere. I'm going into a grocery store with a mask on. If I do go to a restaurant, I'm wearing a mask. I mean, that's just me, but what do you want people to know about that?
Dr. Healy: I think there's no real good ultimate answer to this question, which is frustrating because, if you're like this, but I want to know the rules. Hey, if I didn't even wear a mask, I'll wear a mask, if I don't need to fine, I don't need to. I'm fully vaccinated. And I still wear a mask when I go to the store for grocery shopping.
If I were to go into another type of store, I would still mask. And part of that is just because I think it's a good idea to show that masking is the norm now. And, even though I protected I'm trying to protect others. Not wearing a mask, what the risk is, but we don't know the science yet about how much a risk this is. The risk is that even though I'm fully vaccinated, I might get the virus. I might be able to spread it, but I don't even know that I have it. So, that's the real unknown about this. But I think masking, if you're comfortable with it, which a lot of us are now, it's the new normal. I think when you're outside, no need for a mask. If you're inside, you're going to be around people you don't know. They may or may not be vaccinated. They may or may not wear a mask, based on their vaccine status. It's probably a good idea to put your mask on.
Host: I agree with you there. And as we wrap up, what an important episode we've got today, what would you like us to know about the Delta variant and your thoughts about what you see happening in the future and to emphasize the importance of getting vaccinated?
Dr. Healy: I think the Delta variant is a warning for us that there will be more variants. The more people that get infected, the more chance there are of other variants developing from those random mutations that occur. And the next one may be a variant that doesn't get any protection from the vaccine. Meaning even if you're vaccinated, it's going to be a new infection for us. That's kind of a nightmare scenario because if there's a variant of high consequence, like the WHO and CDC call them, that escapes the vaccine, then we're back to the beginning. We're back to coronavirus that none of us are able to fight off and we're back to masking and distancing and staying inside.
So, the Delta variant, it is a warning for us to pay attention, vaccinate, decrease the number of people who get infected, therefore decreasing the number of chances this next variant might escape the vaccine.
Host: Very well said, Dr. Healy. Great guest as always. Thank you so much for your expertise today. That concludes this episode of Expert Insights with the Carle Foundation Hospital. For a listing of Carle providers and to view Carle sponsored educational activities, please visit our website at carleconnect.com for more information.
Share this show with your friends and family, on your social channels, because we need to hear from the experts at the Carle Foundation Hospital, this really important and vital information. I'm Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.