Delta Variant of SARS-CoV-2 to Dominate the World, WHO Warns
🇺🇳@COVID19Up: It won’t be long before the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, first identified in India, becomes the dominant strain of the virus on the planet, World Health Organization (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan warned on Friday.
“The Delta variant is well on its way to becoming the dominant variant globally because of its increased transmissibility,” Swaminathan said during a press conference at the agency’s Geneva headquarters.
The variant has already spread to more than 80 countries—and it keeps mutating. The WHO is now tracking reports of a “delta plus” variant, unofficially referred to by some as the “Nepal variant.” According to a new study published in The Lancet, the Delta variant doubles the risk of hospitalization.
In the United Kingdom, where the Delta variant has already become the dominant strain of the virus, SARS-CoV-2 infections are rising again in spite of a lockdown and 80% of adults having had their first COVID-19 vaccine dose.
Delta now makes up more than 60% of new COVID-19 cases in the UK.
#DeltaVariant cases according to Public Health England:
Increase of 23.1x in fully vaccinated people.
Increase of 10.5x in unvaccinated people.The difference is even bigger with deaths.
What could explain it?
Could it be an early sign of ADE?@DavidLWindt pic.twitter.com/VHEmzeQJ1h— David Desjardins (@daviddesjardi) June 18, 2021
In the United States, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned on Friday that she expects the Delta variant to become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 strain there too.
The CDC is concerned about the delta variant mutating to a point at which it evades the existing COVID-19 vaccines, Walensky says. https://t.co/Sqi5rGlFTQ
— ABC News (@ABC) June 18, 2021
“When these viruses mutate, they do so with some advantage to the virus. In this case, it is more transmissible,” Walensky told ABC’s “Good Morning America,” describing the Delta variant.
“We saw that quickly become the dominant strain in a period of one or two months, and I anticipate that is going to be what happens with the delta strain here,” Walensky said, adding: “I think that that’s probably going to be the case.”
"We are now seeing in Southwest Missouri that now 90% of our hospital covid admissions are the delta variant. Admissions are climbing quickly. We are seeing younger people being admitted than in prior waves." pic.twitter.com/SYnlT70fdo
— Cali Dreaming NaphiSoc (@NaphiSoc) June 18, 2021
The good news is that if you get vaccinated, “you’ll be protected against this Delta variant,” Walensky claimed.
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