Delta Variant is Different - It's the NEW COVID

The delta variant is almost like a whole new COVID virus as it behaves very differently from the previous COVID strains. It has at  least three mutations on its spike protein and more specifically on its receptor binding  domain- that's the part of the spike protein that binds to the ACE2 receptor on the cells in  your body. The delta variant mutations help it bind more efficiently to the ACE2 receptor and  also allows the virus to enter the cell easier.  Also its mutations allow it to better evade the  body's immune system.  

The delta variant  is estimated to be at least 60 percent more  transmissible. One CDC document suggests the delta  variant is about as transmissible as chickenpox with each infected person infecting on average  eight or nine other people. Now compare that to the original strain of COVID which was about as  contagious as the common cold with each infected person infecting two others on average. 

Studies on people infected with delta variant showed that the fully vaccinated had as much virus in their bodies as unvaccinated people did. That doesn't mean worse infection though if you're vaccinated but the significance of having those higher viral loads is going to mean higher transmission of the virus either vaccinated or not even if they don't have symptoms. It's why the  CDC says that even vaccinated people should wear masks in areas of sustained or high transmission.  

Also a study in CHINA found that viral loads of people infected with delta were 1000 times higher compared to people infected at the very beginning of the pandemic and delta transmits in four days compared to six days when you compare that to the original strain. Now there are three somewhat older studies from CANADA, SINGAPORE and SCOTLAND showing that people infected with a delta variant  are more likely to end up in the hospital. So, 

Does the delta variant make unvaccinated people more  prone to dying compared to the original strain? 

Hard to know since there are currently no studies showing that one way or another. It's also trickier to answer this question because you're comparing apples to oranges. You're not only comparing different strains but with the  original strain, no one was vaccinated in 2020 also in the beginning of the pandemic we weren't using things like dexamethasone and tocilizumab, two drugs that we now use to treat COVID because we know that they reduce mortality. With the mRNA vaccines we have Pfizer and Moderna, they're about 95% effective at preventing serious COVID illness. So, we know that even before the delta variant emerged, they're going to be breakthrough cases. 

As compared to original strain, with the delta variant things are looking different. Recently more patients are admitted in the ICU who have chosen not to get vaccinated in their 30s, in their 40s, their 50s. Most of them were otherwise healthy,  all of them not vaccinated. 

The only true medical  exception to not getting the vaccine is; if you've  had a severe allergic or immunological reaction to any of the components of the vaccine like  polyethylene glycol outside of that. We know that it's very safe and very effective in the key to getting past COVID, it's only a matter of time before a new variant emerges that will render our current vaccines useless. So until we reach herd immunity, we'll be in an ongoing battle of  updating the vaccines to fight the new variants.