Unvaccinated people don't only risk their own health: Their bodies become 'variant factories'

On March 25, 2021, a medical assistant administered a COVID-19 vaccination dose to a woman in Los Angeles. Mario Tama/Getty ImagesCNN was told by an infectious disease expert that unvaccinated people could be a driver for new variants.Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert, said that "unvaccinated people can be potential variant factories."Mutations that reproduce can be transformed into variants, and unvaccinated host more easily allows for this.Check out more stories from Insider's business page.According to CNN, an infectious disease expert said that people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 pose a risk to their health and can also be considered "variant factories".CNN's Dr. William Schaffner, a Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, stated that "unvaccinated people can be variant factories."He said, "The more people who are not vaccinated, the greater the chances of the virus spreading."Infected people with coronavirus may develop variants.Schaffner stated that "when it does, it mutates" and could lead to a variant mutation that is more severe.Some mutations can cause viruses to become more resistant, such as the COVID-19 coronavirus. A mutation might make a virus more transmissible.The virus will spread to other people if it is successful.CNN reported that the mutation can continue to reproduce in unvaccinated individuals.Andrew Pekosz, a microbiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that mutations in viruses can occur and that the ones that remain are those that make it easier for the virus' spread. "Every time a virus changes, it gives the virus another platform to spread more mutations. We now have viruses that are more efficient at spreading.It is important to remember that a virus cannot spread if it doesn't have the ability to mutate.Continue the storyThere are several types of coronavirus. Four of them have been designated "variants of concern" in the World Health Organization.These four are Alpha, discovered first in the UK, Beta and Gamma. Gamma was first discovered by South Africa. Delta was first discovered on Indian soil. They pose a risk because they can be transmitted more easily, cause more disease or can evade immune protection.These variants were also discovered during a time when infections were very common.Even for those who have been vaccinated, public health experts are already concerned about the potential dangers that the Delta variant poses to their patients. Although vaccines have been shown to be effective against certain variants of the disease, some may not work as well. For example, two doses of Pfizer vaccine were 88% effective in preventing symptoms of COVID-19 due to the Delta variant.Experts in the US are concerned that the variant could spread to other areas and cause breakthrough cases, especially in low-vaccination communities. The greater the chance of the virus spreading to others, the less people who have been vaccinated."Currently, vaccination coverage in approximately 1,000 US counties is less than 30%. These areas, mostly in the Midwest and Southeast, are our most at-risk. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Wilensky said that there are already increasing rates of disease in some of these areas. She spoke to a White House briefing on Thursday. "As the Delta virus continues to spread throughout the country, we expect increased transmissions in these areas unless we can vaccinate even more people."Experts urge more Americans to get vaccinated in an effort to stop the spread of the disease.Business Insider has the original article.