Risk of death more than 130% higher with delta variant than original COVID virus, research suggests – CBC

Vaccination still dramatically reduces dangers tied to more-contagious variant

Oct 05, 2021

A new study using Canadian data suggests the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus causes more serious disease and is associated with an increased risk of death compared to previous strains — dangers that are drastically reduced with vaccination.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto and published Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, analyzed more than 212,000 cases of COVID-19 reported in Ontario between Feb. 7 and June 27.

They found that those infected with the alpha variant, which drove the province’s third wave in the early spring, or the beta or gamma variants were 52 per cent more likely to be hospitalized, 89 per cent more likely to need intensive care and 51 per cent more likely to die of the infection than those who caught the early 2020 version of the virus.

Among delta cases, they found a 108 per cent increased risk for hospitalization, 235 per cent increased risk for ICU admission and 133 per cent increased risk for death compared to the original virus strain.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/delta-variant-impact-study-1.6200066