An Important Message From Dr. Alexandre Furman on the Delta Variant of SARS-CoV-2

As many of you may know by now, the COVID delta variant has become the most prevalent strain. This is a matter of extreme concern for those who are not vaccinated, as the delta variant is more contagious than the original strain of the virus and is currently accounting for 83% of infections.

If you have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19, here is some important information:

The Delta Variant is highly contagious and will continue to cause surges of infections in areas with low vaccination rates.

These surges can eventually overwhelm local hospitals and make it difficult or impossible for patients to receive the routine medical care they need while also struggling to provide advanced care modalities the necessity of which may be prevented by vaccination. 

The current vaccines are highly effective and safe per scientific analysis and continued assessment by multiple scientific bodies. While it is true that any vaccine can have side effects, the risk of such, as currently assessed by a wide variety of trustworthy scientific sources is very low – and the risk of the virus-caused disease is greater.

Vaccines effectively prevent patients from getting severely ill or dying.

While you can still contract COVID-19 despite vaccination, you have drastically reduced your risk of contracting a serious illness or needing hospitalization. Moreover, there is good evidence that people who get COVID-19 disease after vaccination are much less contagious than people who have not been vaccinated, therefore offering additional protection to those you love and those who are more vulnerable to this virus.

Having had prior COVID-19 infection does not necessarily protect you from infection with the delta variant.

Antibodies produced by a prior COVID-19 infection are not guaranteed to protect you against new strains and variants of this virus, which will continue to emerge as more people become infected. The vaccines are proving to provide this protection, so you should consider vaccination even if you have had a prior infection. This can be done safely after consultation with your physician.

Unvaccinated patients are 99.5% of deaths currently reported in the US.

And 83% of all infections are related to the new Delta Variant. 

Vaccination is the most important step and our greatest defense against this virus. While we all desperately want to go back to “normal,” we are not at the end of this fight yet. The good news is, we have the power to protect ourselves and each other by getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Please consult your physician to look at your unique medical history and determine how to safely get vaccinated.