Vaccinated and unvaccinated persons urged to safeguard against Delta variant – Emergency Medicine Specialist

Aug 31, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Guyana may very well be experiencing the dreaded ‘Delta wave’ of the COVID-19 pandemic and, according to Emergency Medicine Specialist, Dr. Zulfikar Bux, both the unvaccinated and vaccinated must take necessary actions to safeguard themselves.

Emergency Medicine Specialist, Dr. Zulfikar Bux.

Dr. Bux, who has had a crucial hand in treating COVID-19 patients, addressed this state of affairs in his most recent column in this newspaper. In highlighting that there has been an upward trend in COVID-19 cases, he noted that “on August 7, 2021, our seven-day average case numbers were steady at 58 cases daily. As of Saturday, 28th August, 2021, the seven-day average had jumped to 131 cases.” During the same period outlined, Dr. Bux noted that there was a 24 percent increase in those hospitalised.
Even more worrying was his revelation that “we are seeing patients that are sicker and presenting earlier with moderate to severe forms of the disease.”
But while the unvaccinated are still accounting for the related deaths, based on the doctor’s observation, “the vaccinated are presenting for treatment with more serious symptoms than previously.”
While Guyana does not currently have the capacity to test for the Delta variant or any variant for that matter, Dr. Bux is convinced that “the alarm bells are ringing that a new variant is responsible for this new trend.”
His suspicion is linked to international patterns of the disease and for this reason, he insisted that “we cannot ignore the high likelihood of this variant being responsible for the recent change in events.”
What is known about the Delta variant?
First detected back in December 2020 in India, the Delta variant is said to be the most efficient form of the virus. An August 26, 2021 report published by Yale Medicine (a medical group in New Haven, Connecticut, United States) highlighted the rapid spread of the variant in India and Great Britain before reaching the US where it is now said to be the predominant variant.
In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described the Delta variant as more transmissible than the common cold and influenza, as well as the viruses that cause smallpox, MERS, SARS, and Ebola—and called it as contagious as chickenpox in an internal document, a copy of which was obtained by and reported on in The New York Times.
The highest spread of cases and severe outcomes is happening in places with low vaccination rates, and virtually all hospitalisations and deaths have been among the unvaccinated, the CDC had noted. But the CDC released data in July that showed vaccinated people also can transmit the Delta variant, which officials did not believe to be the case with other variants, and which led the agency to make a prompt revision to its masking guidelines, according to the Yale Medicine report.
Experts, Dr. Bux noted, have theorised that in a completely unmitigated environment—where no one is vaccinated or wearing masks—it is estimated that the average person infected with the original coronavirus strain will infect 2.5 other people. In the same environment, the Delta variant would spread from one person to maybe 3.5 or 4 other people. Describing this version of the coronavirus as a “beast”, Dr. Bux said that it “runs through populations like a wildfire leaving trails of the dead in its tracks.”
“We have seen what this efficient beast did in countries like India, and the US Hospitals become overwhelmed and death rates increase further because some infected patients did not have effective access to appropriate medical care. If we are not careful and we let our guards down, the beast can repeat such devastations in Guyana,” Dr. Bux noted.
Layers of protection needed
Based on experiences from other countries, he added, this wave can last from one to three months and will depend largely on the local vaccine uptake and behavioural patterns.
“Our worst seven-day average death rate hovered around four deaths per day. If we assume similar numbers of deaths with this wave, then there is a possibility of us losing between 200 to 400 of our fellow Guyanese within the next two to three months,” said Dr. Bux, as he stressed “we need to get our act together and take actions that will prepare ourselves to survive this wave.”
According to the doctor, to combat this “heartbreaking” situation effectively, “your best investment for the incoming wave is to ensure that you are fully vaccinated. If you do not believe, Google ‘vaccines and Delta variant deaths’ and you will be swamped with articles from many reputable sites showing that the overwhelming majority of deaths are coming from the unvaccinated population.”
Given the highly infectious nature of the Delta variant, Dr. Bux noted that in addition to being vaccinated, “you can add more layers of protection to your armour by continuing to wear masks and avoid sharing closed and poorly ventilated spaces with others.” This, he said, can be complemented by ensuring that “your immune system is optimised by exercising, eating healthy, avoiding stress when possible and your vitamin uptake is optimal.”