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Its summer, andas predicted, were seeing yet another spike in COVID-19 infections around the nation.
Antonio Rodriguez/Adobe Stock
Cases have increased across the country, most dramatically in many Southern states, from a trough in June.
Intensive care units inMissouri,Arkansas,Louisiana, and other states have been stretched to the brink.
Health care workers are again exhausted, with calls forout-of-state nursesto assist in many affected areas.
Mississippi issetting up a field hospitalto handle their excess patients.
Much of the rise can be attributed to two forces that converged in late spring.
Delta has changed the game.
So what do we know about it?
And where does the pandemic go from here?
Here are the best answers we have so far.
Where do variants come from?
Aspate of new variants of SARS-CoV-2was detected in multiple countries in the fall of 2020 and winter 202021.
The delta variant (also known as B.1.617.2) was one of these which emerged and spread globally.
Many mutations will be either neutral or harmful to a virus.
But occasionally, a mutation or combination of mutations can allow the virus to infect a host more efficiently.
A variant of concern designation is given for one or more of several reasons.
It could result in a variant that is not recognized by current diagnostic measures.
Variants of concern may also show reduced effectiveness to vaccines or treatments.
Why is delta the big bad right now?
The emergence of new variants was expected as the pandemic raged on.
This previously happened with the alpha variant, which Delta has replaced in many countries.
This happens when a virus spills over into a new host.
The originally circulating virus was evolutionarily adapted to transmission in a different host.
When a virus finds a new host, it needs to fine-tune itself to establish itself.
We are that new host.
Globally, delta has been slowly increasing in prevalence since it was first identified in India in 2020.
Its early spread seemed to be focused in India when overall COVID-19 cases were declining, says Dr. McNamara.
Delta, like alpha before it, is more transmissible than previously circulating versions of SARS-CoV-2.
How much protection do COVID-19 vaccines offer against Delta?
The currently authorized vaccines were developed and tested while the early strains of SARS-CoV-2 were circulating.
Studies done early this spring while the alpha variant was dominant may not be applicable to the delta variant.
Still, even against the delta variant, our vaccines appear to be holding up well.
Dr. McNamara says, The two-dose mRNA vaccine of BioNTech/Pfizer was shown to be88% protective against symptomatic COVID-19.
That is just incredible given how recently this virus came into human circulation.
This data has yet to be peer-reviewed and published, howeverbut its still promising.
Should people be doing anything differently safetywise now that Delta is circulating so widely?
The more layers of protection that can be added, the better, says Dr. McNamara.
He added that his behavior has changed little since the start of the pandemic.
What about kids and the delta variant?
Dr. Kuppalli notes that delta is hitting kids hard.
We are seeing cases ofMIS-Cand we are still learning about the long-term effects of this virus in kids.
Do we need to be concerned about other variants, like delta plus and lambda?
I do not see a variant emerging that abolishes protection offered through the vaccines, says Dr. McNamara.
But this doesnt mean we should be complacent.
Some populations cannot be vaccinated or have low responses to the vaccines due to underlying conditions.
What about boosters in light of deltado we need them?
A second booster dose for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is also not yet authorized.
That unvaccinated group includes those around the globe who have yet to pull up the vaccine.
Dr. Kuppalli cautions that leaving these individuals behind could lead to the rise of additional dangerous variants.
We have to get levels of circulating virus down around the world and not just in the U.S.
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