Delta Variant May Spread With a Vengeance This Summer — New Variant Hits 28 Countries and Antibodies May Be 7 Times Less Effective

Recently, many Canadians have had the illusion that the COVID-19 seems to be over and life has returned to full normalcy. However, experts point out that this is just a short intermission brought on by high vaccination rates.

In the past week, 6,500 people were hospitalized in Canada with the COVID-19, and an average of nearly 70 people die every day from it, bringing the cumulative death toll to over 40,000 day after day. Besides, Israeli researchers are warning again that the Delta variant may be making a comeback as soon as this summer. Based on the latest effluent testing and peer-reviewed studies, Israeli researchers believe that Omicron has not wiped out the previous variants and that Delta is super-resilient and could re-emerge and spread with a vengeance.

Professor Ariel Kushmaro, head of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, said, “Our findings show that the epidemic is not over and that sooner or later there will be a new wave, probably in the summer or the end of summer.” He also predicted that Delta could re-emerge in its current form or spread in a new sub-variant form. Other experts also agreed with his prediction. “ We've seen some variants emerge and others disappear in the past, but this has never happened with Delta, which seems to have a special ability to survive.”

On the same day, the CDC released its latest data, which showed a more than 100 percent increase in new cases nationwide. The new sub-variant BA.2.12.1 that spread 27% faster than the original Omicron strain. It now accounts for 36.5% of new cases across the US and will soon replace Omicron as the new dominant strain, and has even become the dominant strain in some states. In New York and New Jersey, for example, BA.2.12.1 accounts for up to 62% of cases.

BA.2.12.1 — the “fastest spreading” sub-variant in history — is creating a new wave of outbreaks in the United States. Compared to the previous week, cases are on the rise in most parts of the United States. New infections in Washington, Mississippi, Georgia, Maine, Hawaii, South Dakota, Nevada and Montana have increased by up to 50% or even more. The seven-day average number of infections in the United States has risen from 25,000 per day at the end of March to more than 56,000, an increase of more than 100 percent. US health experts say the COVID-19 appears to be a never-ending novel.

Meanwhile, another branch of Omicron — BA.4 and BA.5 — has begun to wreak havoc in South Africa. What’s even scarier is that BA.4 and BA.5 are causing almost all repeated infections in South Africa! South Africa has experienced at least 4 waves of COVID-19, and almost 91% of the population is naturally immune to it. But this time BA.4 and BA.5 are still coming in like a flood.

BA.4 and BA.5 can escape the natural antibodies that were built up when patients were previously infected with Omicron, and now the number of confirmed cases in South Africa has more than tripled. Last month the daily increase in South Africa was at 1,000 cases, and today the daily increase has skyrocketed to 4,000 to 6,000 cases. However, what is happening in South Africa today may well be what is happening in North America in a few months’ time. It seems that immunity have failed in the face of these two new strains.

BA.4 is known to have been found in 15 countries and territories, and BA.5 has been found in 13 countries and territories worldwide. Recently, the COViD-19 has changed the life of a 2-year-old child forever. Mirk, who lives in Germany, was a healthy and active 2-year-old boy who used to be very well behaved and obedient.

However, he developed symptoms of a cold some time ago, and Mikel’s mother took him to the doctor, but the hospital was already overcrowded with COVID-19 patients and they couldn’t get in the queue. Therefore they had no way but to go home to recuperate. A few days later, Mikel started having convulsions and after being taken to A&E, he was told that there was still a queue.

Three days later, Mikel’s condition was still not improving and she went to the hospital to plead with the doctors to let them take a look at her poor baby. This test revealed that Mikel had antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 in his body, and the only reason Mikel, who was not old enough to be vaccinated, had antibodies was that — he had previously been infected with COVID-19.

Doctors told him that after being infected with COVID-19, Mikel developed cerebellar ataxia — a condition that causes him to be unable to walk, talk, swallow or even see! In a few short weeks, Mikel was paralysed and the German medical system, which had collapsed during the outbreak, could barely provide him with treatment. Mikel is still only 2 years old, but his life has almost been ruined by the COVID-19. How will the family carry this on their backs, and how many more Mikels exist in this world. They are among the countless people around the world who are suffering from the aftermath of the COVID-19 in ways that no one can imagine.

There is still so much we don’t know about the COVID-19. But the best way to protect ourselves at the moment is to take precautions, such as wearing masks, washing our hands regularly and disinfecting more often.