Wednesday, July 7th 2021, 4:46 pm
COVID 19 cases continue to climb in Oklahoma - with more than 2,000 reported active cases right now.
Doctors fear these numbers could spike substantially -with the outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Maps from the CDC shows that there's a huge COVID outbreak in Arkansas and Missouri - that's moving quickly into Oklahoma. In fact, doctors said hospitals in northeast Oklahoma are being hit hard right now.
And what's mostly to blame - an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant.
"It's controversial whether this particular variant causes more hospitalizations and deaths," OU Health’s Chief COVID Officer Dr. Dale Bratzler said.
However, Bratzler said it is clear the Delta variant, first found in India, is more contagious than the other variants.
"Spike proteins attach to the human receptor more personally and easily," Bratzler said.
Bratzler said the Delta variant symptoms are vague. Could it be a respiratory illness, or allergies? The most common symptoms with the Delta variant are headache and fever, along with running nose and sore throat, Bratzler said.
That's different than the COVID 19 symptoms we've been dealing with - shortness of breath, cough, and fever.
Bratzler said the variant is spreading through younger people, because of low vaccination rates.
He said the Pfizer vaccine has been studied the most to show its efficacy against the Delta variant.
"The only one thar has been studied very well is the Pfizer vaccine,” Bratzler said.
In fact - a UK study showed that the Pfizer vaccine is 88% effective and a larger study in Israel - showed Pfizer is 64% effective in protecting you against all coronavirus infections.
However, Pfizer and Moderna are very similar vaccines.
And to put some rumors and myths to rest, Bratzler said without a doubt, COVID-19 vaccines are safe for fertility and pregnant women.
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