Sweden’s Delta variant situation: Will dominate in the coming months
By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews
According to the Swedish Public Health Agency’s latest updated statistics, which show that the total number of reported cases of covid-19 in Sweden remains low. However, statistics show that the proportion of cases of the delta variant increases and quickly becomes dominant when it has been introduced in a region.
At present, a total of 1,836 confirmed delta cases have been reported, but the incidence differs in the country. In Norrbotten and Västerbotten, for example, only a few isolated delta cases have been reported, while the variant accounts for 95 percent of all cases in Värmland.
The Swedish Public Health Agency estimates that the delta variant will completely dominate in Sweden in the coming months. The same assessment has been made for the whole of Europe by the European Infection Control Agency’s ECDC, says assistant state epidemiologist Karin Tegmark Wisell.
The delta variant is found in all parts of the world and in principle in all European countries. In the UK and India it accounts for over 90 percent of all cases, and in Denmark it now accounts for two thirds of all new cases.
Compared with the alpha variant that previously dominated, the delta variant has a higher dispersibility. It also seems to infect people who have only received one vaccine dose more easily. For fully vaccinated persons, the protective effect against the delta variant is considered to be good, especially against severe disease.
– In order for the spread of infection not to increase again, it is central that everyone who is recommended a vaccine accepts the offer. It is also important that everyone stays home at symptoms, tests themselves, keeps their distance, avoids congestion and respects the infection control measures that still apply, says Karin Tegmark Wisell.
The first case of delta was discovered in Sweden in April during week 14. The trend with an increasing proportion of delta cases has been going on for some time, but it is only in recent weeks that it has become widespread in most of the country’s regions. The total number of delta cases, 1,836, which are now reported, has been reported to the Public Health Agency up to and including 8 July.