Challenges presented by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, such as its greater resistance to existing COVID-19 vaccines, should not be used as an excuse to prolong unreasonable restrictions, a British infectious disease expert told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th June, 2021) Challenges presented by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, such as its greater resistance to existing COVID-19 vaccines, should not be used as an excuse to prolong unreasonable restrictions, a British infectious disease expert told Sputnik.
Thanks to successful vaccination campaigns, the COVID-19 vaccination rate increased steadily across the globe, especially in developed countries. The majority of Western countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Israel, have given at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to over 50% of their populations.
According to the latest data from the British government, about 60.3% of British nationals have received both doses of their COVID-19 vaccines, and about 82.5% of people in the country have received one shot.
The Delta variant, first identified in India, which has driven a new wave of infections and accounts for about 90% of new cases, has forced Prime Minister Boris Johnson to delay the full lifting of restrictions on movement by four weeks to July 19.
Studies published by Public Health England in late May showed that the Pfizer vaccine's efficacy against the Delta variant fell to 33% after the first dose, compared to 50% against the Alpha variant. Even after two doses, the Pfizer vaccine's protection against the Delta variant stood at 88%, compared to 93% against the Alpha variant.
However, even as existing COVID-19 vaccines, such as the Pfizer vaccine, proved to be less effective in preventing transmissions of the Delta variant, it should not be a reason for authorities to keep unreasonable restrictions in place, a British expert on vaccination ethics argued.
"The focus on number of cases is being used as a justification to keep unreasonable restrictions in place, including restrictions that violate human rights. This is ethically unacceptable. Where vaccine roll outs have been successful, the fact that the Delta variant escapes vaccines more easily cannot justify current restrictions (e.g. quarantine requirements for travelers), because it is not posing any serious public health threat," Alberto Giubilini, a senior research fellow on the Oxford Martin Program on Collective Responsibility for Infectious Disease, told Sputnik.
Instead of focusing on the number of new infections, authorities should evaluate the threat from COVID-19 based on the number of those infected who need hospitalization, the expert suggested.
"As long as vaccines are effective at preventing serious symptoms, and as long as the most vulnerable groups have been offered the vaccine, whether vaccines are equally effective at halting transmission does not make a significant difference to public health and to public health systems' capacity to cope with outbreaks," he said.
According to analysis results released by Public Health England, both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines can be highly effective against hospitalization, at 96% and 92%, respectively, after two doses.
As part of their efforts to boost local vaccination rates, a number of
countries have begun to introduce vaccine mandates for certain industries, such as healthcare professionals and service workers.
Last week, about 153 employees at the Houston Methodist hospital resigned after they refused to comply with the hospital's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Over 100 employees sued the hospital over the vaccine mandate, but a local judge supported the hospital's decision.
Giubilini, however, has argued that a vaccine mandate for young people is ethically unacceptable.
"I don't think mandatory vaccination for young age groups is ethically acceptable, given our current level of knowledge of vaccines and of the virus (importantly, this might change if we gather new relevant knowledge on vaccines or if the virus mutates in some more concerning way). Vaccine mandates should be considered whenever an important public good is at stake that can be achieved through vaccination. But the risks and costs need to be fairly distributed," he said.
The expert explained that people who are more at risk from COVID-19 infections, such as older people, could benefit more from such vaccine mandates.
"Older and vulnerable people are the ones who are both more likely to benefit from the vaccine and also more likely to threaten the public good by overburdening health care systems. Young people, especially children, are not at a significant risk of Covid, and the vaccine is very unlikely to be in their best interest because every vaccine has some small risk. Thus, mandates should be considered at this stage only for older age groups," he said.
Instead of forcing people to take COVID-19 vaccines through mandates, governments should focus on improving transparency in their communication and avoid overselling the vaccines if they want to maintain the public's confidence, the expert pointed out.
"Transparency is one of the victims of this pandemic. Governments need to be way more transparent than they have so far been on many things. One obvious example is the devastating impact of lockdown and the way it violates human rights. The same apply to the actual dangers of the Delta variant and to the actual effectiveness and risks of vaccines. People need to maintain confidence in vaccines because some of the vaccines we have are very effective and safe. But overselling vaccines, e.g by downplaying the small risks they entail, does not seem the best way to do that. In the long term, it would likely undermine confidence," Giubilini said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledged last week that rare cases of inflammation of the heart, called myocarditis and pericarditis, appeared among young adults aged 16 years or older after taking a COVID-19 vaccine shot.
As of June 21, the US CDC and the Federal Drug Administration have confirmed 393 reports of myocarditis and pericarditis.
