The Malaysian Insight

THE surge of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia has raised concerns over the spread of the highly infectious Delta strain among the community. 

Health authorities said 67 Delta variant cases have been detected in Malaysia and warned that there would be more as the variant is more potent than the Alpha strain.

Virologist Dr Chee Hui Yee of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) told The Malaysian Insight that the variant may increase the risk of re-infections.

“According to data from England, the Delta variant is 40-60% more transmissible compared to the Alpha variant. (The) Delta variant also increased the secondary attack rate,” she said.

The latest Ministry of Health data shows that the state with the greatest number of Delta variant infections is Labuan with 14 cases, followed by Pahang with 10 cases, and Selangor with seven cases.

 All states have detected the Delta variant except for Kelantan and Perak.

The director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah raised the alarm on the variant yesterday when he cited it as one of the reasons for the surge in cases. 

He also warned that cases are expected to increase in the next two weeks until 40% of the population is vaccinated.

Yesterday, Malaysia recorded its highest daily tally yet with 11,618 new infections.

Over 100 countries around the world have been ravaged by the Delta variant. It was first discovered in India in December 2020, when it was then known as the Indian variant, or the B.1.617.2 variant of concern.

The Delta variant has since become a dominant strain in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and even Israel. It now accounts for about half of the infections in the United States and almost all of the new infections in the UK. 

World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said recently that the variant is ripping through the world at a scorching pace, driving a new spike in cases and deaths.

“Delta is now in 111 countries and we expect it to soon be the dominant Covid-19 strain circulating worldwide,” he said.

A study in Scotland published in the Lancet medical journal last month stated that the Delta variant is almost twice as likely to lead to hospitalisation compared to the Alpha variant, previously known as the Kent/UK B.1.1.7 variant.

The Delta strain has also halted plans of countries to ease lockdowns and return to normalcy.

Chee of UPM said based on the weekly epidemiological update from WHO, the Delta variant may cause an increased risk of hospitalisation and a reduction in neutralising activity.

The variant has become a concern due to the key mutation on the spike protein known as the L452R, which the coronavirus uses to latch on to human cells.

Meanwhile, scientists in India are now studying the Delta Plus variant, which is said to be a mutated version of the original variant that drove the apocalyptic second wave of infections in the world’s largest democracy.

India has reported over 30 million cases and 411,000 deaths.

According to reports, the Delta variant also contributed to the rise of cases in Indonesia, which reported over 40,000 daily infections back-to-back for two days.

Assessments on the efficacy of vaccines against the Delta variant vary according to studies.

Public Health England said in June that two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines are said to have 96% and 92% efficacy respectively in preventing hospitalisation for cases with the variant.

However, Pfizer is now looking at a potential third booster shot to beef up immunity against the variant.

Meanwhile, Canadian researchers said Pfizer-BioNTech is only 87% effective in preventing infection, while a Israeli study showed that the vaccine only offers 64% protection against an asymptomatic infection of the vaccine.

Thailand is looking at mixing the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines to boost protection against the variant, which critics said was a risky move.

Sinovac is currently studying the efficacy of its Coronavac vaccine against the variant. While no data is available yet, it has alluded that a booster shot may be necessary. – July 15, 2021.