People are twice as likely to need hospital care if they are sick with the Delta Covid variant, rather than the Alpha variant that was once prevalent in the UK, data from England suggests.

Axar.az informs that experts say the big study, published in The Lancet, reinforces why it is important that people get fully jabbed.

Vaccination cuts the risk of serious illness from either variant, although Delta is the current threat.

The study, led by Public Health England (PHE) and the Medical Research Council, looked at 43,338 Covid cases that occurred between March and May - when both Alpha, also known as Kent, variant, and Delta were circulating in the UK.

The bulk of these infections were in people who had not yet been vaccinated.

Most did not need hospital care, but a small proportion - 196 (2.3%) of the people infected with Delta and 764 (2.2%) of those with Alpha - did.

Risk of hospital admission was twice as high for individuals diagnosed with the Delta variant, compared to those with Alpha, after adjusting for differences such as age, sex and ethnicity.

Experts say being vaccinated should bring down this risk. Both doses are needed for maximum protection.