The delta coronavirus variant is now responsible for most of the COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Compared to other coronavirus variants, the delta variant is thought to be more transmissible and, potentially, more dangerous.
Back in April, the Aalpha variant (originally identified in the U.K.) became the most common strain of coronavirus in the U.S. And in early June, Anthony Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that delta may take over next. At the time, he explained that alpha was the dominant strain in the U.K.—until delta took over and essentially replaced it.
Now the delta variant (originally identified in India) accounts for more than half of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., a CDC official told Politico. Specifically, delta was responsible for 30.4 percent of cases between June 5 and June 19, but that number jumped to 51.7 percent between June 20 and July 3. In some areas of the country, delta accounted for an even larger share of COVID-19 cases. For instance, in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, delta was responsible for more than 80 percent of cases between June 20 and July 3, Politico reports.
The best way to keep yourself and your community safe from coronavirus variants, including delta, is to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Just over 67 percent of adults in the U.S. have received one vaccine dose, according to the most recent CDC data, and 58 percent are fully vaccinated.
But the worry is that those who aren’t vaccinated or can’t yet be (including kids under the age of 12) are particularly vulnerable to delta. “It’s the unvaccinated people that we’re concerned about,” Dr. Fauci said in a recent interview. “They have to start paying attention to it now because if they are unvaccinated, they are at risk.” He recommends that parents and those in the community around them prioritize getting vaccinated to help protect the children who can’t get the shots.
Even those who are fully vaccinated may want to keep up with the other public health tools we have, such as wearing masks and social distancing, to reduce their risk of getting or spreading the new variant. That may be especially useful in higher-risk situations, like indoor gatherings. The more that we are able to reduce the spread of this variant—and the virus in general—the more we can prevent the rise of even more worrying variants.