TWV Podcast Episode 468: The Delta Covid-19 Variant

The covid-19 Delta variant is the most contagious yet, driving a surge of covid-19 infections, with some areas seeing the highest rates of new daily cases and hospitalizations to date during this global pandemic.

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Recommended Reading and Listening
Citations

So, this week on The Whole View podcast, Stacy and I are discussing the mutations that make the Delta variant so much more transmissible, along with how those mutations affect infection dynamics, symptoms, the risk for severe disease and mortality, as well as how well the vaccines work against Delta. Then, we breakdown the new breakthrough infection data that led the CDC to change their mask guidance, asking even vaccinated people to mask up indoors. We also share the very, very good news: the vaccines are very effective at preventing severe disease and death even from the Delta variant! Finally, we wrap up with some action steps, what we can do as individuals to protect ourselves and our communities.

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Citations

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Ozono S, Zhang Y, Ode H, Sano K, Tan TS, Imai K, Miyoshi K, Kishigami S, Ueno T, Iwatani Y, Suzuki T, Tokunaga K. SARS-CoV-2 D614G spike mutation increases entry efficiency with enhanced ACE2-binding affinity. Nat Commun. 2021 Feb 8;12(1):848. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21118-2. PMID: 33558493; PMCID: PMC7870668.

SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions

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khn.org/news/article/unraveling-the-mysterious-mutations-that-make-delta-the-most-transmissible-covid-virus-yet/

asm.org/Articles/2021/July/How-Dangerous-is-the-Delta-Variant-B-1-617-2

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covariants.org/variants/21A.Delta

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Pfizer Second Quarter 2021 Earnings Teleconference

Six Month Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations

Improving communications around vaccine breakthrough and vaccine effectiveness

Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Including COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections, Associated with Large Public Gatherings — Barnstable County, Massachusetts, July 2021

How the Delta variant achieves its ultrafast spread

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