The difference between Delta and Delta Plus Variant and do vaccines work against them?

The deadly Covid-19 Delta variant is rapidly spreading around the world. Delta variant spreads 50 percent faster than Alpha, which was 50 percent more contagious than the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. However, the general public is still puzzled about the differences between these multiple strains of the virus. In this article, we will discuss the differences between these strains in detail.

DELTA VARIANT (B.1.617.2)

As of July 9, The Delta variant accounts for more than 50 percent of all the infections in Los Angles County, California and the number of known Delta variant cases has been doubling down every two weeks, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.

The Delta variant strain (also known as B.1.617.2) of Coronavirus was first identified in India and is a dominant strain of coronavirus in the United States, according to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC). The Delta variant contains a number of mutations, one of which is known as L452R.

“This variant is even more transmissible than the UK(Alpha)Variant, which was more transmissible than the version of the virus we were dealing with last year,” said US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy

According to Public Health England, 99 percent of cases in England until mid-June were of the deadly Delta Variant strain.

"Delta is the most transmissible of the variants identified so far," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization,

When age, gender, ethnicity, and vaccination status were all taken into account, an analysis of 38,805 sequenced cases in England revealed that the Delta variant carried 2.61 times the risk of hospitalization within 14 days compared to the Alpha variant.

DELTA PLUS VARIANT (B.1.617.2.1)

The Delta Plus variant (B.1.617.2.1) is a new and slightly altered offshoot of the highly infectious Delta variant (B.1.617.2). Clusters of mutations can be found in all variants. Delta Plus differs from Delta in that it has an additional mutation known as K417N. This mutation has an effect on the spike protein, which is the part of the virus that attaches to the human cells that it infects.

According to the Indian government's Covid-19 genome sequencing body, the Delta Plus variant exhibits several concerning characteristics, including increased transmissibility, stronger binding to lung cell receptors, and a potential reduction in antibody response.

According to Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on Covid-19, the World Health Organization is tracking the Delta Plus variant strain to determine its transmissibility and severity.

At least 11 countries have reported cases of the emerging Delta Plus variant, including the United States. However, according to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) data from June, Delta Plus did not account for a significant proportion of sequenced Covid-19 cases in the United States.

DO VACCINES WORK AGAINST THEM?

Numerous studies have found that if you are fully vaccinated with both doses, you are safe against the deadly Delta variant strain of the coronavirus; however, there is little information available to say the same about the Delta plus variant.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stated in late June that two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine provided 88 percent protection against symptomatic Covid-19 caused by the Delta variant.

Johnson & Johnson released a statement on July 1, informing that their vaccines also work against the new delta strain of Coronavirus.

“A single dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine generated neutralizing antibodies against a range of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, which increased over time, including against the increasingly prevalent and more transmissible Delta (B.1.617.2) variant,” said Johnson & Johnson

In lab tests, Moderna's two-dose vaccine was also found to be effective against new variants such as the Delta strain, according to the company. Serum samples from eight participants were collected a week after they received their second dose of the Moderna vaccine.