Delta variant, Italy and Europe on alert

Delta variant in Italy and Europe, the alert for the mutation is growing which according to the experts of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Ecdc) will represent “90% of the viruses in circulation in the EU by the end of August “. In fact, the forecast foresees that “by the beginning of August, 70% of new Sars-CoV-2 infections in the EU / See will be caused by this variant”, a percentage that will rise to “90% by the end of August”. On the basis of current evidence, the ECDC points out, the Delta variant – classified as Voc (Variant of concern) – in addition to being more transmissible “can also” be associated “with” a greater risk of hospitalization. – there is evidence that those who received only the first dose of a two-dose vaccination course are less protected against infection caused by the Delta variant, regardless of the type of vaccine. However, full vaccination provides almost protection against the Delta variant. equivalent “to that conferred on other mutants. Consequently, “the assessment of the risk of infection for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated people in the EU / See” has worsened. Read also DELTA VARIANT IN ITALY: INCREASING NUMBERS In Italy, the mutation of the virus, reported for the first time in India, can jeopardize the restart, with various outbreaks already identified from North to South. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mario Draghi stressed that ” the European and Italian economic situation is strongly improving, but risks linked to the variants remain “and he invited to go” ahead with the vaccination campaign “. While the Undersecretary of Health Costa called for “enhancing the sequencing of the virus”. On the territory, outbreaks derived from the mutation have been reported in Lombardy, Campania, Abruzzo, Emilia Romagna, Sardinia. And the numbers of the prevalence of the variant “have increased and will continue to increase, it will tend to replace the English variant in Italy as well as in the United Kingdom. . Our job is to slow down the rate of spread and strengthen tracing to limit cases, but a few weeks from now the percentages are set to rise. In the meantime, the slowdown must allow faster vaccination with second doses so that this variant does not do damage “, Pierpaolo Sileri, Undersecretary of Health, guest of Timeline, explained yesterday to Sky TG24. “For those who have the second dose – he added – the clinical effects of this variant are limited. We continue to observe what happens in the United Kingdom, which is further ahead of us in this experience, to take the necessary measures. “” In a pandemic like this, new chapters are always added. If we think about vaccines and variants, today we have the variant Delta that is reigning in the European world, we are seeing what is happening in Britain. Am I worried? I think it worries everyone, but the scientists tell us they have faith in science and we know that statistically the people who have received both doses are truly protected from hospitalization or intensive care or the most harmful event. This is very important, but it must induce us to continue to behave correctly “. Thus, yesterday, the extraordinary Commissioner for the Covid emergency, General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo.
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY The aggressive Delta variant will soon dominate, but a pandemic recovery with the size of the past is unlikely to repeat itself, in terms of deaths and serious illnesses. This is the opinion of Massimo Galli, head of infectious diseases at the Sacco hospital in Milan. “I tend to think that it is very unlikely that we can face a situation similar to that of last year in the autumn, despite the concerns related to the spread of the Delta variant.” This “because of the vaccine which has a series of positive aspects, which gives us a series of guarantees and which should put us in a position to be able to cope with the problem,” he told Adnkronos Salute. “But the target doesn’t have to be dead anymore,” he says. “It is worrying but we can prepare ourselves and overcome the impact it will have. However, it is necessary to rush with the completion of the vaccination cycle and also immunize adolescents”. To make the point for Adnkronos Salute is immunologist Mauro Minelli, responsible for the South of the Italian Foundation of Personalized Medicine. “The Delta” or ‘Indian’ variant of Sars-CoV-2 “affects the young and under 30, and it is also logical because they are among the least vaccinated. The numbers are coming out these days “. This was underlined by Guido Rasi, former EMA number one and consultant to the commissioner for the Covid emergency. Rasi also remarked how, precisely because of this aggressiveness of the Delta variant, “it is very important to vaccinate even the 12-16 year old group”. “Autumn will be frightening for the unvaccinated, not so much for the community that will be able to count on a vaccinated population and health services that will be able to respond, not overload you. It will be a problem of individual vulnerability. We will have a different season than last year: more serene for the vaccinated. And for Italy it will be more manageable, even with the Delta variant ” of Sars-CoV-2. This is the forecast that Adnkronos Health collected from Walter Ricciardi, consultant to the Minister of Health for the coronavirus emergency and professor of Hygiene at the Catholic University of Rome. “Compared to last autumn – Ricciardi reiterates – the situation is very changed. The difference is made by the many vaccinated people, especially in the most vulnerable groups. It will certainly be necessary to maintain control, because the Delta variant is more contagious. But if we arrive in October with a higher vaccination coverage than now, we will be safer “.