What is the Delta Variant?
SARS-COV-2 is an RNA virus which means it’s genetic code is RNA rather than DNA. The genetic code for SARS-COV-2 is a long chain made up of four different bases. We can think of the four bases as an alphabet that consists of only four letters. These “letters” are A (which stands for adenine), C (which stands for cytosine), U (which stands for uracil and G (which stands for guanine).
Normally SARS-COV-2 makes exact copies of itself inside a human cell and these copies go on to make new virus particles. Very rarely the RNA of the virus makes a mistake when copying itself. An A might be substituted for a G, for example. These mistakes are called mutations. Almost all of these mutations make the virus function less well and they quickly disappear. Once in a great while a mutation occurs that makes the virus work better. When this happens viruses with the mutation spread faster and if they make the virus much more infectious, then the virus with the mutation quickly replaces the old form of the virus without the mutation.
That is exactly what has happened with the Delta variant. It is a mutation that makes the SARS-COV-2 virus much more contagious. Instead of each infected person infecting around 2 others, the Delta variant mutation causes each infected person to infect 5 other people. Because it is so infectious it has spread very quickly and is now the dominant form of the virus in the United States. If you get COVID today, there is a very high probability that you are infected with the Delta variant. There therefore is no need to test any individual infected person for the Delta variant.
Fortunately although the Delta variant of SARS-COV-2 is much more contagious, it does not seem to cause any more serious disease than the old form of the virus, but having a lot more people infected means that a lot more people will get very sick and require hospitalization.
I have already had COVID. Am I protected against the Delta variant?
There is some protection, but probably not very much. Even if you have already had COVID you can get infected again with the Delta variant and you might be much sicker than you were the first time.
I have been fully vaccinated. How protected am I against the Delta variant?
All of the vaccines in the United State that have FDA emergency approval (Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson) provide about 80% protection from infection with the Delta variant. That means that out of 100 fully vaccinated people exposed to the virus, 20 will likely get infected. Those twenty people will tend to have no or mild symptoms and will not need to be admitted to the hospital. Very rarely a fully vaccinated person will get very sick and might even die. Rarely means about 1 person out of 1000 fully vaccinated people are hospitalized for COVID and nine out of ten hospitalized patients recover.
Being fully vaccinated makes you much less likely to get infected with the Delta variant and if you do get infected you are likely to have no or very mild symptoms. Vaccination means you have 99.99% protection from severe COVID requiring hospitalization. If everyone wears a mask indoors, the rate of infection for vaccinated people approaches zero. Even if most people are not masking indoors (though they should be) vaccinated people should still wear masks indoors because if they are infected with the Delta variant, even if they have no or mild symptoms, they could still pass the virus on to others.
I am not vaccinated. What is my risk of getting infected with the Delta variant?
If you are exposed to an infected unmasked person indoors and you are not wearing a mask then your chance of infection with the Delta variant is close to 100%. If infected you have a 20% chance of being hospitalized and a 1% chance of dying. That means that of 100 unvaccinated people exposed to the virus almost all of them will get infected. Twenty of those people will be so sick that they have to be hospitalized and one will die. Wearing a mask indoors protects you a little bit, but if everyone wears a mask indoors, your chance of being infected is much less. Obviously, you can’t control what other people do, and in states with low vaccination rates, there are also many fewer people who mask indoors. Your best shot at protecting yourself from getting very sick and perhaps dying is to get vaccinated as soon as you can. In the meantime avoid closed indoor spaces, especially where people are talking loudly or singing. Always wear a mask indoors.
Hospitalization rates are very high in states and counties where vaccination rates are low. Hospitals in those states and counties are almost out of ICU beds and are short on staff to care for desperately ill people. That means that those hospitals may not be able to take care of people who have heart attacks, car accidents or other serious illnesses. Some of those people will die because care is delayed. Although these deaths are not directly caused by COVID, these deaths would not happen if hospitals were not overwhelmed with COVID patients. Therefore another reason to get vaccinated is to take some of the stress off hospital workers who are exhausted and burning out.
Do I need a booster shot if I have been fully immunized?
Good immunity from the vaccines lasts for at least 8 months and probably longer. There is some evidence that immunity from all of the vaccines starts to decrease after 8 to 9 months. Booster shots will be available in mid September, and people who had their second vaccine 8 months or more ago probably should get a booster.
Vaccine Side Effects
By far the most common side effects of all COVID vaccines are fatigue, headache, fever and sore arm. These side effects go away within 24 to 48 hours.
Myocarditis and Pericarditis
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines rarely cause some heart inflammation. This happens in about 12 people per million vaccinated. It is always mild and almost never requires hospitalization. All cases so far have gone away on their own and there have been no deaths.
Central Vein Thrombosis
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine rarely causes blood clots in a central vein in the brain. This happens in about 7 people per million vaccinated. This is the rate for women under 50. Men and women over 50 have an even lower risk. This can cause death, but if recognized in time can be treated and cured.
To put this risk in perspective, your chance of dying every time you drive a car is about one in one hundred. Almost everyone who drives is willing to accept this level of risk, which is way higher than your risk of death or disability from any COVID vaccine
Vaccine Misinformation
COVID vaccines do not cause infertility in women or men. COVID vaccines do not cause or make you more susceptible to getting COVID. COVID vaccines do not change your DNA. COVID vaccines do not put microcomputers in your body. There have been no unsafe shortcuts in the development of any of the COVID vaccines in use in the United States.
Bottom Line
All COVID vaccines available in the United States are safe and effective. They markedly decrease the risk of infection with the Delta variant and while breakthrough infections do occur, they tend to have no or mild symptoms. Current vaccines give 99.99% protection against getting sick enough to need hospitalization. Severe vaccine side effects do occur but are exceedingly rare and all are curable. The risk of infection with the Delta variant in unvaccinated people is very high as is the risk of hospitalization.