Dr. Fauci says that the delta variant is now the most contagious variant in the UK, the US, and 60 other countries. Here’s what we know so far.
On June 8, the White House response team discussed the severity of Delta: a new COVID-19 variant. They also continued to place importance on getting the public vaccinated so that individuals do not worry as much about getting the new variant.
A couple of weeks ago, the India Coronavirus variant was said to be one of the most contagious coronavirus variants to sweep the nation. Now, the Indian variant has become extremely prominent in both the US and the UK and has been re-named the delta variant.
During the White House briefing, Dr. Fauci gave his expertise on the delta variant that is continuing to spread rapidly. “Clearly now [the Delta virus] transmissibility appears to be greater than the wild type named the Alpha variant,” said Fauci. “It may be seen with an increased disease severity, such as hospitalization risk, compared to alpha.”
Although the new variant is more contagious than any previous variant we’ve dealt with so far, there is a solution to solving the spread. According to data from Public Health England, the Pfizer vaccine was seen to be 88% effective against the delta variant when it comes to symptomatic cases of COVID-19. This effectiveness will start two weeks after receiving your second dose of the vaccine.
Still, Dr. Fauci did not state anything about the effectiveness of Moderna or J&J against the new Delta variant.
According to Dr. Fauci, the delta variant is affecting younger age groups a lot more than previous variants. For this reason, he is encouraging young adults to do their part and get vaccinated.
“The transmission is peaking in the younger group of 12 to 20-year-olds. Mainly, that is the group that we’re concerned about here,” Fauci said. “[It’s] about making sure they get vaccinated.”
The data has proven that the vaccine is effective against COVID-19 and the new variants. The White House response team reiterated that cases are continuing to drop rapidly, and the death rate has reached an all-time low of 379 per day. Hospitalizations have decreased by 83%, and COVID-19 cases have dropped 94%.
Now, 85% of adults over the age of 65 have received their vaccine, and a total of 50% of Americans over the age of 12 have been able to receive the vaccine. It is time to get vaccinated to be protected from the new variant that is taking the world by storm.