This is a longer post only because the details are pertinent, with much of the information as anecdotal, but references to Reuters articles about the spread of the disease based on medical research.
For those short on time, here’s tldr
The Delta variant is more virulent than the other variants, hands down. It hospitalizes those who aren’t vaccinated. If you’re vaccinated, most likely you will not be hospitalized and get through it just fine. Nevertheless, you may still catch it, and the vaccine helps you recover faster with little to no complications. Most importantly, you can easily pass it to others who are at risk or not yet vaccinated.
So, let’s step up and get vaccinated to eradicate this pestilence! 
Full Story
Someone I know whose kid goes to a Montessori told me today of some pertinent news.
Their daughter’s school called them 10 days ago to let them know a kid at the school had tested positive for COVID. The kids are not required to wear masks at the school. In turn, their daughter had what appeared like flu the same day they got the call. They took her the Friday before last and by last Monday found out she had COVID as well.
Both he and his wife were vaccinated. However, he came down with flu-like symptoms by the end of last week. He and his wife both got tested and he came back positive, though he told me he’s feeling much better now.
This is one of many stories that healthcare workers in my life, including my wife, hear at their work, and we read about on various medical sites.
Bottom line, the Delta variant is more virulent than the others, so far. However, if you’re vaccinated, you will likely not be hospitalized and get through it just fine.
It also goes to show you the need to still wear masks given that as a vaccinated person you would still be able to pass the bug to potentially unvaccinated people, including your own family members.
Finally, I’m including an except from an email from a conservative leader of a local Braver Angels group. I only mention that she’s “conservative” because I want to dispel the idea that conservatives are against vaccinations. A good amount are not, especially when they read the scientific data directly from medical journals and professionals.
Please feel free to pass the below information onto anyone that you know.
Some context on where this info came from: My brother-in-law contacted us yesterday to tell us about a phone call he received from his oncologist (a prominent doctor with Harvard Medical who has developed life-saving cancer treatments), who he had not heard from in 10 years. As my brother-in-law put it, this is not the type of guy who casually calls his former patients out of the blue. The doctor is also no “warm fuzzy” or social butterfly.
He called my brother-in-law to pass onto him important information about the Delta variant of COVID-19.
Here is a recap of what his doctor directly communicated:
- The delta variant is much much more contagious than any other variant of COVID-19 (thusfar). It is not a matter of if any of us will be exposed to or get it, it is more a likelihood of when we will be exposed/get it and how severe the symptoms or reaction will be.
- Anyone who has had cancer or a serious pre-existing health condition should consider themselves at high risk/immunocompromised, even if you are fully vaccinated (he did advise that full vaccination should still be done as an additional preventative and symptom reduction measure). It is suggested that anyone immunocompromised (and even those who are not) minimize interacting with unvaccinated people, including children (who can be asymptomatic carriers and who are also now increasingly landing in the hospital with this variant). He advised my brother-in-law to wear a N-95 grade mask at home (in addition to outside/in public) since his kids are going to school. Regular cloth masks do not provide complete protection against COVID-19; only N95 or FDA certified N95 equivalents do.
- If you feel any type of flu-like symptoms (headache, slight fever, achiness), you should get tested for a rapid COVID-19 test right away to prevent spreading the virus. And of course, isolate. (My brother-in-law’s doctor advised finding out a place where you can get a same day test now to have it handy.)
- He advised that anyone getting (or suspected of getting) delta variant immediately request a prescription of: regdanvimab (CT-P59), which has been shown to eradicate and reduce the symptoms and severity of delta variant. Here is the article about the drug (Businesswire article).
My husband and I felt that it was important to share this information (from someone our family considers a highly trusted scientific/medical source) with friends and family. Over the past 18 months, we have experienced knowing first hand friends, colleagues and relatives who have contracted Covid-19 (some with life threatening or worse consequences) and this sharing comes from a genuine intent of not wanting anyone else we know (or anyone you know) to get ill with this horrible virus. We encourage everyone to make the decision that is best for them based on objective data and verifiable medical/scientific sources.
If you know of someone who’s still not vaccinated, please share this post with them and remind them that the vaccine’s free. 
