Delta variant may be soon dominant in Rio de Janeiro – health secretary

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Delta variant of the coronavirus is circulating in the city of Rio de Janeiro and may soon become dominant, the city’s Health Secretary Daniel Soranz said Thursday, warning that Delta requires an acceleration of vaccination amid a shortage of doses.

The first two cases of local transmission of the Delta variant – said to be the most infectious and which has been blamed for the increase in cases in several countries – were registered in Vila Isabel, in the north zone, and in Paquetá, an island that last month had a mass vaccination of the population.

Around 40 people who had contact with these infected patients are being monitored by the city hall.

In the state, at least two other cases of community transmission of Delta had already been confirmed last week, one in Rio’s suburban Baixada Fluminense and another in the Metropolitan Region. About 10 people who had contact with these patients tested positive, and genome tests should confirm if they also have the Delta variant.

Originating in India, Delta has already been detected in about 100 countries, becoming the dominant variant in some of them.

“It is already starting to circulate in the city, it is more transmissible but less lethal. These are people who have been isolated, have come through the disease well, and are cases of community transmission,” Soranz said. “Maybe in the next few days or next month, it should be the one that will predominate,” he predicted.

The Rio municipal government is vaccinating people at least 37 years old this week and is awaiting confirmation of the arrival of more doses to move forward with the immunization schedule.

The information, given in an interview to Reuters by Biomanguinhos director Mauricio Zuma, that the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) will not complete the delivery of 100 million doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine in July as initially planned, has generated concern among Rio de Janeiro health authorities due to the presence of the Delta variant in the city.

“It is a worrisome variant. The important thing now is to vaccinate and, if possible to accelerate. Brazil bought vaccines late, there were negotiation problems, and this affects states and municipalities. Only the acceleration of vaccination will avoid the spread of the variant”, said Soranz.

The city of Rio has already applied the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in 70% of adults living in the city, while 26% have already received the two doses or the single-dose vaccine.