Associate Professor Dr. Kaan Yılancıoğlu, Deputy Director of Üsküdar University Institute of Addiction and Forensic Sciences, and Head of the Chemical-Biological Engineering Department, made evaluations regarding the Delta variant and vaccination efforts during the normalization process.
If 80% vaccination rate for the second dose is not achieved, a fourth peak could be experienced…
Experts, drawing attention to the importance of vaccination efforts in the fight against the Delta variant, which is increasing its impact worldwide, emphasize that the second dose vaccination should be completed at a rate of 70-80%. Emphasizing the importance of vaccination, Associate Professor Dr. Kaan Yılancıoğlu warned, “Especially as time spent indoors increases in the upcoming autumn months, if we cannot raise vaccination to a sufficient level—I am talking about completing two doses of vaccination at a rate of 70-80% here—it is highly probable that we will face a fourth peak.”
Finally, the Delta mutation emerged
Yılancıoğlu stated that the coronavirus underwent many mutations during the pandemic, saying, “The first variant was the mutation named D614G. After that, quite different mutations emerged. Mutations such as the California mutation, New York mutation, and British mutation appeared. The variant we call the British variant, in particular, excited the scientific community. Because some regional mutations it carried on the protein called spike showed that it could both evade the immune response and that the vaccine could become somewhat ineffective. However, what was greatly feared did not happen. The British variant spread a little faster, peaked, but both the severity of the disease and its other characteristics showed that it was not much different from the initial version.” he said.
Associate Professor Dr. Kaan Yılancıoğlu noted that after the British variant, the Delta variant emerged in India, and now said that the Delta Plus variant has also come to the agenda.
The location of mutations is being investigated
Associate Professor Dr. Kaan Yılancıoğlu noted that as scientists, they examine where the mutations are located, and stated, “There are especially 6 regions. We look at how many of those regions have mutations. Because those regions that enable the formation of an immune response during vaccination are important. Changes in those regions worry us. For some of those regions in the Delta variant, we were concerned. We started to monitor what would happen. Especially in India, we saw that the number of cases increased tremendously.” he said.
Delta variant is 2-3 times more contagious
Associate Professor Dr. Kaan Yılancıoğlu, noting an increase in case numbers in Russia, said, “It is currently possible to say that the Delta variant is very high in Russia and is dominant. In America, too, it is said that the Delta variant will become effective instead of the British variant within 2 months. This is because the Delta variant is stated to be 2 to 3 times more contagious.”
We might feel the impact of the Delta variant within approximately 2 months
Associate Professor Dr. Kaan Yılancıoğlu noted that there are 150 confirmed Delta variant cases in our country, and said that like many countries in the world, the effects of this variant might be felt in the coming months. Associate Professor Dr. Kaan Yılancıoğlu said, “We don't know about asymptomatic cases related to the Delta variant. We can say that this variant is currently spreading, and it can be said that we will feel this Delta variant within 1-2 months. Because America went through the same process. The UK went through the same process, Russia went through the same process, and unfortunately, all countries in the world, including Turkey, will go through the same process.”
Vaccination rates against the Delta variant must be increased
Associate Professor Dr. Kaan Yılancıoğlu, noting that vaccination is very important for protection against the Delta variant, said, “Currently, vaccines are still protective. Uğur Şahin also stated this. There is no plan or ongoing work to update the vaccines right now, but unfortunately, studies show that the effectiveness of vaccines has decreased. The protection rates for the most effective mRNA vaccines have dropped from 96% to around 70%. While a single dose provided protection at rates around 70%, it will now provide protection around 30-40%. This means that future variants after the Delta variant have unfortunately started to show that we may need a third dose. If the Delta variant had never emerged, and no other variants appeared afterward, perhaps we wouldn't be talking about a third dose. Because we would say the pandemic would end, but unfortunately, the pandemic is still ongoing, and other variants seem likely to emerge, so a third dose seems imminent. Vaccination with a third dose has already begun for those who received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine. This situation does not apply to those who received the BioNTech vaccine. For those who received the BioNTech vaccine, a third dose vaccination will be determined according to the situation of the variants.” he stated.
If 80% vaccination rate for the second dose is not achieved, a fourth peak could be experienced
Emphasizing the importance of vaccination, Associate Professor Dr. Kaan Yılancıoğlu said, “Vaccination rates must definitely be increased. Due to the Delta variant, there is a possibility of a fourth peak occurring in our country. Especially as time spent indoors increases in the upcoming autumn months, if we cannot raise vaccination to a sufficient level—I am talking about completing two doses of vaccination at a rate of 70-80% here—it is highly probable that we will face a fourth peak.” he warned.