New York, Nov 20 : A SARS-CoV-2 variant with traits similar to that of the Delta variant might cause a more severe pandemic with more infections and breakthrough infections/reinfections than variants with either trait alone, finds a new study. A study published in Cell showed that an enhanced transmissibility variant alone could be far more harmful than one that can partially bypass the immune system.
However, a combination of both traits can cause more infection, reinfections and breakthrough infections than one variant only.
Mary Bushman, a Harvard University researcher said that evidence of immune escape (the ability to bypass the immune system and cause reinfections/breakthrough infections) has so far been an issue.
It’s not a huge deal by itself, but our findings suggest it might be more like a yellow warning.Bushman said that when combined with increased transmissibility it could be quite a big deal.
The traits of the Delta variant include enhanced transmissibility and an ability to infect people who had previous infections/vaccination.
Analysis of a SARS/CoV-2 pandemic was done.
It included combinations of two traits: enhanced transmissibility similar to Alpha; partial immunity escape similar to Beta; enhanced transmissibility and partial immune escape similar to Delta; and another variant without either trait.
It also considered how specific variables such as vaccinations or masking/physical distance would impact the trajectory of the pandemic.
The team analysed each scenario to determine the overall number and percentage of cases prevented by vaccination.
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