With inputs from Dr Monica Vasudev

Unvaccinated Delta variant cases more likely to be hospitalized than alpha variant cases

Results of a study from the UK published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases show that COVID-19 patients infected with the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) had 2-folds greater risk of being hospitalized within 2 weeks of infection compared to patients who were infected with the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7). Nearly 6% of patients with the Delta variant required emergency care or were hospitalized within 14 days compared with 4.2% of patients with the Alpha variant. Almost three-quarters of patients requiring hospitalization were unvaccinated or had taken their first dose of vaccine in less than 21 days. However, the risk for hospitalization and the need for emergency care or hospitalization in the vaccinated persons were comparable between the two groups of the patients … (Source: Medpage Today, August 27, 2021)

CDC study shows COVID-19 vaccines less  effective against delta variant 

According to a new CDC study published earlier this week, the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine declined from more than 91% to 66% in the fully vaccinated as the delta variant became the predominant strain in the US indicating the highly contagious nature of the Delta variant. Between December 2020 and April 2021, the vaccines were about 90% effective in preventing symptomatic and asymptomatic infections. From April onwards to August, when delta variant became dominant, there were 19 infections among the 488 unvaccinated individuals, while there were 24 infections among 2352 fully vaccinated people …(Source: Medscape, August 25, 2021)

How long is long COVID? A new study says one year

A Lancet single-center study from Wuhan, China has shown that about 50% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had at least one symptom that persisted for a year after the infection. Although the percentage of patients who had at least one symptom decreased from 68% at 6 months to 49% at one year. The most common symptom was fatigue or muscle weakness. Anxiety or depression and dyspnea were also common symptoms at one year. The authors say, “To our knowledge, this is the largest longitudinal cohort study of hospital survivors with COVID-19 to describe the dynamic recovery of health consequences within 12 months after symptom onset.” (The Lancet, published August 28, 2021)

A new study to understand the responses to COVID-19 vaccine 

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will conduct a study to find out why some people get reinfections or infections after vaccination while others do not. It will also assess how long immunity from vaccinations lasts, how the timeline differs between the different vaccines and how changes in the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ genetic make-up might evade the immune response. The Public Health England (PHE) landmark SARS-CoV-2 immunity and reinfection evaluation (SIREN) study, together with a number of other research cohorts and partners including the Protective Immunity from T-Cells in Healthcare workers (PITCH) study, the Humoral Immune Correlates of COVID-19 (HICC), the Genotype to Phenotype (G2P) Consortium, GenOMICC and the Francis Crick Institute will assess participants’ detailed immune system response to COVID-19 infections and vaccinations… (Public Health England, August 26, 2021)