Alpha, Delta, Omikron – who are most threatened by the various COVID-19 variants?

Alfa, Delta, Omikron – in the last 12 months, these three variants have caused more COVID-19 waves around the world. While the risk factors for each are similar (age, comorbidities, obesity), other groups of people suffered the most during different phases of the pandemic. It depended largely on vaccinations.

1. The Alpha variant most often attacked middle-aged people, mainly men. Older adults, though customarily more susceptible to disease, were partially vaccinated at the time
2. The Delta variant is particularly dangerous for unvaccinated and elderly people with comorbidities in whom immunity has decreased.
3. The Omikron variant attacks mainly children, it also results from poor grafting. In the United States, the youngest account for half of hospitalizations
4. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

Alpha variant – who was sick most often?

The Alpha variant (marked with the symbol B.1.1.7), originally called the British variant, is the first variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused a large wave of infections. It was first detected in Great Britain in September 2020, the World Health Organization recognized it as particularly dangerous (Variant of Concern – VOC) in December, it appeared in Poland in January 2021. It caused the third wave of the pandemic, which lasted until May 2021

It turned out to be 50-70 percent more contagious. than the primary variant of the coronavirus. It also caused more severe cases of the disease.

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– In covid hospitals, patients who go to bed once stay for two or three weeks. In the case of the British variety, we see that the clinical course of this disease is more severe and we see that it lasts longer, recovery takes longer and there are more complications, therefore we cannot shorten hospitalization – said Dr. Grażyna Cholewińska-Szymańska, a specialist on TVN24. of infectious diseases, head of the Provincial Infectious Hospital in Warsaw.

Who was at risk? – The covid ward is visited much more often by men, younger than in the fall. Currently, the average age of patients who are hospitalized in our department is approximately 58-60 years. Men are definitely more than 60 percent. sick. – said prof. Andrzej Fal, head of the Department of Allergology, Lung Diseases and Internal Diseases at the Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration in Warsaw. – Unfortunately, delaying seeking help is quite common, especially among young and middle-aged people. – he explained this state of affairs.

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Hospitals had a lower age of patients than previous COVID-19 waves. One of the reasons was the high percentage of vaccinated seniors. They were the first to be vaccinated at a time when Alpha infections were increasing, many of them after the second dose. The second reason – according to Fala – was the lack of compliance with the rules of sanitary safety. – Very often these are people who admit to neglecting wearing masks, maintaining social distance, disinfecting hands – said the doctor.

The Alpha variant, although it attacked younger people than it was during the earlier waves, spared the youngest ones. – I have found no evidence anywhere that the British variant has special preferences for children and young people. The number of cases is now actually higher among them, but at the age of up to 18, deaths do not happen, and up to 40 they are rare – explained Prof. Robert Flisiak, president of the Polish Society of Epidemiologists and Doctors of Infectious Diseases.

Delta variant – who gets sick most often?

The Delta variant, denoted by the symbol B.1.617.2, was first detected in India at the end of 2020, the WHO’s attention was drawn to April 2021, and it was added to the VOC list a month later. In Poland, he was first identified on April 26. It triggered the fourth wave of the pandemic, which began in the western part of Europe in the summer of 2021, and in Poland after the summer holidays. Currently, in some countries it has already been superseded or is being replaced by the Omikron variant, but in our country it is still dominant.

The first information about the structure of the sick was that it attacks mainly young people. July data from the UK showed that among those infected are 13 times more 40-year-olds than XNUMX-year-olds, while in Israel XNUMX%. new infections affected people in the range of 10-19 years.

Again, vaccinations were the explanation here. Or rather, the lack of them, the youngest age groups were vaccinated at the latest, vaccination levels were lower than for older ones, and vaccinations for children were yet to start.

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It was similar in Poland. In the initial phase, after the detection of several hundred cases of Delta infection, it turned out that 22,1 percent. are people aged 30-39.

Another reason is the much greater mobility of young people. They travel more often, meet others more often, and therefore the risk of transmission is greater.

After several months of presence of the Delta variant in Poland, the structure of the most common patients has changed slightly. In December, specialists reported that school children and unvaccinated elderly people with many diseases were most often hospitalized due to COVID-19. The latter group, in the opinion of doctors working directly with patients, can be divided into two subgroups – unvaccinated people and elderly people with comorbidities.

– 75 percent of those who died were unvaccinated. Those who died, despite being vaccinated, may have had a lower response to vaccination. These are mostly people from the most vulnerable group, aged 75+ People who have lost their immune system after two doses mainly die. It is important not only to get vaccinated, but also not to postpone the third dose – said Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski on TVN24.

– Among patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, unvaccinated people constitute approx. 90%. Most of the unvaccinated people also die. If it is a vaccinated person, then with severe comorbidities – similarly commented Jarosław Fedorowski, president of the Polish Federation of Hospitals, specialist in internal medicine and cardiology.

Omikron variant – who gets sick most often?

The Omikron variant, designated B.1.1.529, was first detected in early November 2021 in South Africa and Botswana. The WHO reacted quickly and after a dozen or so days entered it on the list of worrying variants. Omicrons in the United States and Western European countries have triggered a new, unusually high wave of infections.

In Poland, it was first detected on December 16. Officially, 14 cases of Omikron were detected by January 328, it is responsible for 10 percent. new infections, but experts say these numbers are actually much higher. It is estimated that in two or three weeks it will be the dominant variant for us.

A feature that distinguishes Omikron compared to Alpha and Delta is much higher transmissivity and, above all, resistance to vaccines. According to various studies, the most popular preparations have an effectiveness in protection against infection at the level of 10-20%. This makes the new variant infect both unvaccinated and vaccinated.

1. Why does Omikron attack the vaccinated? The doctor explains what is happening in their bodies

However, the most vulnerable – with more severe course and hospitalization – are still the most poorly vaccinated groups. So the youngest. The first reports from South Africa, the country where Omikron was discovered, said that 17 percent. people admitted to the hospital were not more than 20 years of age. Other data said that children under 5 accounted for 10 percent. hospitalization in South Africa.

Children under 5 are not vaccinated yet, so this is reflected in the statistics. In late December, this group accounted for half of admissions to New York City hospitals. It is similar in other states in the USA. “We have four times as many children in hospitals as in previous pandemic waves,” said Dr. Elaine Cox of Riley Children’s Health, Indiana.

Omikron is said to be much milder than the Delta, but this is true for those who are vaccinated. This can be confirmed by the data provided by Dr. Cox. Half of the children arriving at the hospital go to intensive care units, 40% requires the help of a respirator.

The same is happening in Western Europe. The number of children admitted to hospital increases with each passing week. The British parliament recently presented data showing that – after infection with Omikron – the risk of hospitalization in children is 20%. greater than in adults.

Also read:

1. We are not afraid of the Omicron, and… we should. The variant is not as mild as we think
2. Why does Omikron attack the vaccinated? The doctor explains what is happening in their bodies
3. PiS deputy: vaccinated and unvaccinated die. We explain why
4. Infection records could lead to the end of a pandemic. How it’s possible?
5. Who is the most resistant to the Omikron variant?

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