Delta Variant Dominates in the USA

The U.S. CDC published an Interpretive Summary for August 6, 2021, confirming most U.S. states are experiencing substantial or high levels of community transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 beta coronavirus fueled by the spread of the highly contagious B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant.

A recent CDC study based on data from Kentucky supports previous findings that the Delta variant is highly contagious.

Furthermore, Delta contributes to an increase in COVID-19 cases, including those with severe outcomes and those due to vaccine breakthrough infections.

Nationally, the combined proportion of cases attributed to Delta is predicted to increase to 93%; Alpha (B.1.1.7) proportion is predicted to decrease to 2.9%; Gamma (P.1) proportion is predicted to decrease to 1.3%, and Beta (B.1.351) is predicted to be less than 0.1%.

While vaccinated people can still develop COVID-19, they are far less likely to get severely sick than unvaccinated people, says the CDC.

'Vaccination is the best tool we have for protecting ourselves and our loved ones against COVID-19.'

The three experimental COVID-19 vaccines Authorized for use by the U.S. FDA continue to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and death. To find a vaccine provider near you, visit Vaccines.gov or your state or local public health department website.

Note: The CDC’s national SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance program identifies and tracks SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in the United States and the proportion of each variant causing infections by region. The thousands of sequences provided every week through CDC’s national genomic surveillance efforts fuel the comprehensive and population-based U.S. surveillance system required to monitor the spread of variants.