Update from Dr. David Clark: Delta Variant of Concern

Written by: David Clark, PhD, chair of the Coalition for Hemophilia B

There are two seemingly disparate reports in the news right now. First, the United States has just reached 600,000 deaths from COVID-19. That means that one in 550 people in the U.S. has died from the virus, a staggering statistic. The other news is that New York and California, two of our most populous states, are opening up from lockdown. What’s the difference? Vaccination! In states that are highly vaccinated the rate of COVID infection is about 20 cases per 100,000 people. That compares with a rate of about 41 cases per 100,000 residents in poorly vaccinated states, over twice as high.

Now, the delta variant (B.1.617.2) of the COVID virus has graduated from being a “variant of interest” to being a “variant of concern” in the United States. This is the variant that developed in India and has devastated the country. It has also taken hold and become the dominant variant in Britain, causing the government to extend lockdowns for another month. The delta variant is now at a level of 10% of total infections in the U.S. and increasing rapidly, doubling in prevalence about every 7 to 10 days. Scientists are now worried that the significant improvements in case numbers over the last few months in the U.S. may be in jeopardy due to delta.

Variants appear when the community is only partially protected. A basic rule of public health is that “unless everyone is safe; no one is safe.”

The delta variant is more highly transmissible and is more resistant to many of the COVID treatments that have been developed. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the current vaccines appear to be very effective against it. We really need to get as many people as possible vaccinated. Variants appear when the community is only partially protected. A basic rule of public health is that “unless everyone is safe; no one is safe.”

Why is there such a hesitation to get vaccinated among some people? I think there are several issues. First, there seems to be a general distrust of everything nowadays. Vaccines are actually one of the wonders of humankind’s search for freedom from disease. They are one of the most “natural” interventions that medicine has to offer, much more so than any drug given to treat disease. Vaccines just trigger the immune system to do what it is naturally designed to do. Vaccines do have some rare side effects, but generally those are significantly fewer than with any other type of medication. We use vaccines because they are by far safer than the diseases they are designed to prevent. I don’t have space to go into all the objections to vaccination here, but there is a huge amount of information from reputable sources on the internet. (Be careful because there are a lot more disreputable sources.) I’ll just say that my family and 44% of all Americans have been fully vaccinated (53% have received at least one dose), and we’re not dropping like flies.

Vaccines are one of the most “natural” interventions that medicine has to offer, much more so than any drug given to treat disease…. We use vaccines because they are by far safer than the diseases they are designed to prevent.

In a webinar today presented by the Food and Drug Administration/Centers for Disease Control (FDA/CDC), Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), the division of FDA that handles vaccines, had a good analogy. If you are leading in a race and potentially coming to the final lap—like the U.S. is now racing to beat COVID—you don’t slack off. If anything, you increase your efforts to make sure you are the winner. We could be nearing the end, but we have to get everyone vaccinated. I’d extend Dr. Marks’ analogy to say that this is a team sport, a relay race. We’re in the lead because so many of the early runners have been vaccinated, but COVID is bringing in its best runners—the variants. Now it’s time for the rest of the team to maintain the lead. Don’t let the team down. If you have concerns, talk to your coach (physician or HTC).

Public health is always a team endeavor, not an individual one. We’ve learned the value of taking care of each other in the hemophilia community. Now we have to get the message out to the rest of society. It’s difficult because society has become so individualistic. We all strive to fit in, yet we all strive to stand out. Let’s all at least be good examples and get vaccinated. Thanks for reading.