Little Evidence Delta Variant Makes You Sicker

Misbar has discovered that as is common with viruses, the coronavirus has mutated since the original virus emerged from Wuhan, China. One of the latest mutations is known as the Delta variant (B.1.617.2). People are describing the Delta variant as much more contagious and also with the ability to make people sicker– but more data is needed to support the latter claim. 

In terms of the transmissibility, the Delta variant does appear to be more contagious than the original form of the virus. According to the MIT Technology Review, Delta appears to be about 40% more transmissible than Alpha, but estimates range from 30% to 100%. 

The Delta variant, which is the dominant variant in the U.K., does not appear to make children sicker. According to Steve Turner, Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health registrar and consultant pediatrician at Royal Aberdeen Children’s hospital, in BMJ.com, “As it stands there are very few children in hospital in Scotland and across the whole of the UK due to covid. We’re not seeing any evidence of an increase in pediatric admissions with covid. A very small number of admissions who test positive for covid is what we’d expect. Our experience over the last 15 months is that many children who test positive have come into hospital for something else, like broken bones. At the moment the situation in the UK is stable. The number of children in hospital with covid remains very low.”

For adults, the Delta variant does not appear to make people sicker according to some experts. Infectious diseases expert Professor Sanjaya Senanayake believes the Delta variant does not seem to make people “more sick.” According to a statement by Senanayake in an interview, “At this stage, it doesn’t look like the Delta strain can make someone more sick. It seems to be more infectious, but it doesn’t make people more sick,” he said. 

According to Kelly Wroblewski, director of infectious disease programs for the Association of Public Health Laboratories, which contributes to the CDC disease tracker, “Right now, we are not seeing variants cause more illness, and vaccines appear to still be effective, so from a public perspective there’s not much action to take.” 

The U.S. just recorded a seven-day average of fewer than 12,000 COVID-19 cases for the first time since March of 2020. In terms of hospitalizations, the current 7-day average for June 16–June 22 was 1,843 according to the CDC. This is a 7.9% decrease from the prior 7-day average. Hospitalizations have been declining in the U.S. since April 19, 2021 according to the CDC. 

While the Delta variant appears to be more easily transmissible, there does not seem to be substantial evidence, at least in the U.S., that it makes people sicker than earlier variants.