London [UK] August 28 (ANI/FENA): Patients suffering from the Delta variant of the coronavirus are twice as likely to need hospital treatment compared to the people infected with the Alpha strain of the deadly virus that was previously prevalent in the UK.
Experts say that a large study, published in The Lancet, emphasizes the importance of complete vaccination of the population, because vaccination reduces the risk of serious symptoms of the disease from any variant of the virus, although Delta strain is a current threat, UK media reported.
The Institute of Public Health of England (PHE) and the Council for Medical Research analyzed 43,338 Covid-19 cases that occurred between March and May – when both Alpha, also known as the Kent variant, and Delta were present in the United Kingdom.
Most of these infections were in people who had not yet been vaccinated. Most did not require inpatient treatment, but the risk of hospital admission was twice as high in people diagnosed with the Delta variant, compared to those with Alpha strain.
Experts say vaccination should reduce that risk with both doses received.
A recent PHE analysis suggests that efficacy is against more severe cases after two doses: 96 percent for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 92 percent for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Other research suggests that, although protection against symptomatic infections may weaken over time, both vaccines continue to offer good protection against severe morbidity and death caused by the Delta strain.
More than 47.9 million people, or about 88 per cent of 16-year-olds in the UK, have received their first dose of the vaccine so far. (ANI/FENA)
