Virus variants tend to be less strong, in this case confirmed in the adjacent “newspaper” article. Why all the fear mongering?

Notice we never see data for how many are asymptomatic, mildly affected nor hospitalized for Delta. Why confuse the unwashed masses with facts. If people were dropping dead we would hear about it.

When roughly 80% are asymptomatic and 15% mildly effected by original Covid (too late for the gene therapy), why push for injecting chemicals to those already blessed with natural immunity? Presumably those with natural immunity would not have to wear masks as is recommended for the experimental cocktails.

Some of us prefer organic over processed.

https://erietimes-pa-app.newsmemory.com/?publink=01f9b8281_1345e39

Sam Ruland York Daily Record USA TODAY NETWORK – PENNSYLVANIA The future of the pandemic might rest with the variants of the coronavirus.

One danger is that the virus could mutate into a vaccine-resistant variant. But if enough people get vaccinated, the virus has less opportunity to spread and therefore less chance to mutate.

Pennsylvania has been tracking the variants, conducting random surveillance on positive COVID-19 tests to see what percentage of cases coming back positive are due to a variant strain or the original COVID-19 strain.

The most recent update from the CDC shows that as of June 29, there were 1,259 sequences over a four-week period in Pennsylvania that contain strains of the virus that the federal agency has deemed ‘variants of concern.’ They are capable of increased transmission and might cause a more severe disease or evade vaccines or available treatments.

The delta variant, first identified in India, has now spread to more than 60 countries and accounts for somewhere between 6% to 18% of current infections in the United States. Its rapid spread has led the CDC to upgrade it from a variant of interest to a variant of concern.

In Pennsylvania, the delta variant’s prevalence remains low, accounting for only 1% of positive sequenced cases.

That could be the tip of the iceberg, however, given that the state does not have the capacity to test every sample for a variant.

Watching for variants is a crucial part of preventing outbreaks, said Dr. Frederic Bushman, co-director of the Penn Center for Research on Coronaviruses and Other Emerging Pathogens.

‘We have to keep an eye on it,’ he said. ‘We shouldn’t panic because the vaccine is good right now and if we can suppress, which is happening right now, in terms of the amount of people getting infected … we’re safe. If we can’t push that further down, then we have to be concerned.’

Where Pennsylvania stands with vaccinations About 63% of eligible Pennsylvania residents have been fully vaccinated,

according to the state’s vaccine dashboard . Nationally, more than 55% of the population over 12, the eligibility age, have been vaccinated,

according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the percentage of the vaccinated population has increased, cases have declined, just as public health officials said they would. The seven-day average for new cases across the state fell below 200 last week — a nearly 80% decrease from the previous month, according to state statistics. Deaths now average 10 a day, an all-time pandemic low.

But scientists fear what might happen if the virus has the latitude to spread and mutate. Viruses do regularly change over time, but many of these mutations will not catch hold in the viral population. They monitor the variants circulating to make sure none have become resistant to the vaccines, treatments or changes in any way that could impact disease transmission or severity.

If the number of vaccinated people testing positive suddenly increased, public health officials would want to know if they all were being infected with a specific variant, especially if all the cases were connected or occurring in the same city.

With an eye to determining if variants are responsible for so-called breakthrough cases, in which vaccinated people become infected, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has asked providers to send samples from vaccinated patients who have been hospitalized for COVID-19 infections.

The state tests a fraction of all positive cases to determine if variants were behind the infection, though the percentage of samples both in Pennsylvania and across the world that test positive for a variant continues to increase.

Deadlier variants could emerge as virus mutates, evolves The more SARS-CoV-2 circulates, the more opportunities it has to evolve, the World Health Organization said.

As more people are vaccinated against COVID-19, the mutations that are the most transmissible are the most likely to survive.

‘It’s that whole survival of the fittest really playing out, really right before our eyes,’ Bushman said. ‘There’s kind of a race with these variants to find the next susceptible person.’

Right now, the most dominant variant in Pennsylvania is the B.1.1.7 strain of the new coronavirus that was originally detected in the U.K. It is also known as the alpha variant.

‘We do know from multiple studies now that the delta variant is even more transmissible and that’s why we think it will become more prevalent in Pennsylvania and maybe as prevalent as the U.K. variant,’ he said.

More vaccinations are the best way to slow that down.

Unvaccinated people at higher risk Based on sequencing results, the delta variant in Pennsylvania is mostly affecting unvaccinated people.

‘Areas that have lower vaccination rates are going to be more susceptible to the delta variant. It is more transmissible than the other variants that we’ve seen or COVID-19 in general, and it really is impacting unvaccinated individuals,’ Bushman said.

‘That’s why we’re encouraging everyone to get vaccinated, because these individuals are highly at risk for getting the delta variant of COVID-19.’

About 45% of all the known delta variant cases in the country have been in people ages 20 to 44, likely both because that age group has a lower overall vaccination rate and because they tend to be social, he said.

A study from Public Health England found that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine were 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the delta variant. After just one dose, it was 33% effective. Moderna is a similar type of vaccine to Pfizer.

Not a lot of information is out yet about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the delta variant, but experts say it likely provides some level of protection.

The best protection right now is to get fully vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna), Bushman said. Fully vaccinated means two weeks out from the second dose.

‘With delta being present in Pennsylvania, we know that presence is just going to continue to increase, so get vaccinated — that by far is the best thing you can do to protect yourself against all the variants.’

Navy veteran Ronnie Jackson, of Blakeslee, Pa., receives a COVID-19 vaccine from nurse Fran McLean at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center in Plains Township. Sean McKeag/AP

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