Delta Variant Doubles Risk Of Covid Hospitalization: Study

The findings, presented in a research letter published in The Lancet, come as U.K. officials wrestle with whether to delay a lift in pandemic restrictions as the delta variant spreads.

People infected with COVID-19's delta variant, first detected in India, are more than twice as likely to end up in the hospital than with the alpha variant identified in the U.K. last year. Vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc protect against delta, researchers said Monday. They found the shot made by Pfizer and partner BioNTech SE offered better protection in a large study from Scotland. The findings, presented in a research letter published in The Lancet, come as U.K. officials wrestle with whether to delay a lift in pandemic restrictions as the delta variant spreads. "We need to encourage everyone to come forward and take up their offer of vaccination to ensure that they've had both of their doses," Jim McMenamin, the COVID-19 incident director at Public Health Scotland, said at a media briefing.