TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In response to the outbreak of the Delta strain of COVID-19, an epidemiologist on Wednesday (June 30) urged the government not to further increase preventive measures or prolong the Level 3 alert and to focus on just getting people vaccinated instead.
The outbreak has caused concern, with the number of confirmed Delta cases rising to 14 on Wednesday.
Academia Sinica epidemiologist Ho Mei-shang (何美鄉) on Wednesday took to Facebook to explain the transmissibility and virulence of the Delta variant. She noted that the variant was first detected in India and has now spread across the globe, replacing the Alpha strain, which sprung up in the U.K., as the most widespread variant.
The Delta variant is 50 percent more infectious than the original virus, while the Delta is twice as transmissible as the original, the epidemiologist said.
As for the virulence of the Delta variant, Ho said that it is believed to have higher pathogenicity, but there is no data to prove this yet. In the U.K., the number of Delta infections continues to rise, but the number of hospitalizations has not increased, she added.
According to data from the U.K., the AstraZeneca and Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are 92 and 96 percent effective at preventing serious symptoms, respectively, but they are less successful against preventing light symptoms, with 60 and 88 percent efficacy rates, respectively, she said.
The epidemiologist said that it appears young people in the U.K. are more prone to Delta variant infections, but the underlying reason is that a higher percentage of young people have not been vaccinated yet.
Meanwhile, the Delta strain is causing a spike in infections in Indonesia, where the vaccination rate is only around 10 percent, according to Ho. Media have reported that several doctors who were fully vaccinated with the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine have died, she said, adding that the damage the Delta variant could bring to countries with low inoculation rates and less effective vaccines is concerning.
In regard to how the Delta variant could affect Taiwan, Ho said that judging from the situations in the U.K. and Indonesia, it is evident more community transmissions of the strain will come from abroad. Taiwan currently has about 5.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and they should be administered as soon as possible, Ho said, adding that though some people are hesitant about getting the jab, vaccination should be extended to the next priority groups as quickly as possible.
The epidemiologist said she thinks Taiwan's focal point should be the rapid distribution of vaccines. The country does not need to increase restrictions or prolong the Level 3 alert just because of the Delta variant, she said.