Harvard University scientists found out that the hazardous strains of the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus, similar to the delta option, are distinguished by increased transmissions and the ability to infect people who have undergone previous infections or vaccination. According to researchers who published scientific work in Cell magazine, Delta option can cause a heavier pandemic wave with a large number of breakthrough infections that occur at vaccinated.
Specialists have created a mathematical model that describes how the pandemic caused by hypothetical options will affect groups of the population using various combinations of prevention measures: wearing masks, social distance and vaccination.
The model reveals the flow of SARS-COV-2 pandemic caused by various hypothetical variants of coronavirus, including combinations of several signs: increased transussion (similar alpha variant), partial escape from the immune system (similar beta-option), as well as improved transussion with Partial escape like Delta option. For each of the scenarios, the researchers analyzed the total number of infections and the percentage of infections prevented by vaccination.
It turned out that an over-transmission option is likely to be more dangerous than the option that can partially escape from the immune system. Nevertheless, the option with both signs can cause more infections, repeated infections and breakthrough infections than the option only with one feature. According to the model, vaccination will prevent more cases that can potentially cause a more transmissive virus, and the soft nature of breakthrough infections should significantly reduce the overall mortality.