Here, he shares what people in the U.S. should know about the Delta variant.
The Delta coronavirus variant is making headlines daily, posing threats to unvaccinated communities and fully-vaccinated individuals alike.
But it’s not exactly a surprise to the scientific community.
Andriy Onufriyenko / Getty Images
Delta is behaving in the same way that all viruses do: by replicating and mutating within host cells.
Each time the virus replicates, there is a risk of mutation.
For instance, It may become better at attaching to cells or start replicating faster.
Similarly, drugs designed to treat COVID-19 infection can be less effective at fighting this variant.
There is a growing concern that this variant may be responsible forbreakthrough infectionin fully-vaccinated people.
Still, a two-dose regimen offers significantly better protection than partial or no vaccination.
Obviously, that still leaves an exposed population: children under 12 years of age.
The prudent way to combat the Delta variant, and any other strains of COVID-19, is through vaccination.
The message is simple: Get fully vaccinated against this evolving virus.
It will help protect those who can’t yet.
For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit ourcoronavirus news page.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.COVID data tracker: variant proportions.
Public Health England.SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England: Technical briefing 16.
World Health Organization.COVID-19 virtual press conference transcript.
Bernal JL, Andrews N, Gower C, et al.Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against the B.1.617.2 variant.medRxiv.
Planas D, Veyer D, Baidaliuk A, et al.Reduced sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 variant Delta to antibody neutralization.Nature.
