More than 30% of people admitted to hospital with the Delta variant have received both of their COVID-19 jabs, evidence shows.
Figures from Public Health England have revealed that 55% of those currently receiving medical care for the Delta variant are unvaccinated, whereas 35% of people recently admitted to hospital have been fully jabbed.
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The hospital data illustrates that vaccinations do not offer guaranteed protection against the Delta strain and according to academics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, hospital admissions of those who are fully vaccinated will rise in the forthcoming weeks.
Senior researcher Professor Stephen Evans said: “If 100 per cent of people were vaccinated, and the virus was still circulating there would still be a relatively small number of infections, hospitalisations and deaths because no vaccine is 100 per cent effective.
“All the cases, hospitalisations and deaths would then obviously be in vaccinated people. It does not mean that the vaccines are ineffective, just that they are not 100 per cent effective.
“The evidence we have from non-randomised studies is that vaccine effectiveness is, as expected, somewhat less against the Delta variant than it is against the original variant of SARS CoV-2.”
The recent study has revealed that vaccinations are not as protective against the Delta strain compared to other variants.
Being fully vaccinated only guarantees 49% protection from being infected with the Delta variant of COVID-19.
The Delta strain of coronavirus started in India and is currently the most common variant of the virus in the UK, making up 99% of positive cases.
The new data has been made public just days after the Government announced that 16 and 17-year olds will be offered their COVID-19 vaccinations in the upcoming weeks.