Concern🐭 is growing over a COVID-19 variant that has 🅰been spreading rapidly around the world.
First identified in India in October, the mutation — dubbed “Delta” — has now hit at least 62 nations, .
“We continue to observe siꦿgnificantly increased transmissibility and a growing number of countries reporting outbreaks associated wiღth this variant,” the UN agency said this week.
The strain — which appears to be more contagious than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus — has also been spreading at a rapid rate in the US, making up 7 percent oꩵf new case🐲s, recent data shows.
Here’s what we know so far about the variant:
How concerning is the variant?
The WHO has classified the strain as a “variant of concern” — meaning there’s some evidence it can spread more easily between people, could possibly cause more serious illness, or might be less responsive to existing treatments and vaccines.
It is the fourth COVID-19 variant to be designated by WHO as being of global concern, the others being strains firs𒉰t detected in Britain, South Africa and Braꦺzil.
The troubling mutation has been blamed for India’s devastating coronavirus outbreak in rece🙈nt months. It has also been tearing through the UK, of new cases in the🤡 country as of last week.
The number of new infections in China tied to the variant has also been surging, prompting Beiji💃ng on Tuesday to impose strict travel restrictions in the city of Guangzhou.
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, said more information was still needed about the variant’s spread globall🌼y.
“We need more sequencing, targeted sequencing to be done and to be shared in India and elsewh﷽ere 🀅so that we know how much of this virus is circulating,” she said.
Is the variant in the US? Which states have reported cases?
Yes. The variant appears to have first been reported in the US between late February and l🐎ate March.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated the strain as a “variant of interest” in early May.
It made up only 1 percent of new cases statesi♊de at the start of May, but now accounts for about 7 percent.
At leastꦰ 46 states have found cases of the strai🐲n, including New York, California and Massachusetts.
To limit spread of the variant, the USꦑ has suspended mosꦡt travel from India.
How contagious is the variant?
Experts in the UK believe this variant could be as much as 50 percent more transmissible than the highly-contagious Alpha strain first reported in Brit⛎ain in December.
If that’s correct, the Delta variant would be 225 percent more transmissible than the original SARS-CoV-2 strains, .
The WHO has stressed that while there is some information that would suggest “increased transmissibility,” more tracking and analysis of the variant is needed.
Do vaccines work against this variant?
Scientists believe that exi𒅌sting vaccines will🤡 be able to thwart this variant, but are still waiting for definitive answers.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious diseases specialist in the US, said last month th꧒at the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech shots are “at least partially and probably” effective aga🌊inst the Delta strain.
Experts are still gathering more information about whether the AstraZeneca and Johnson &aᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚmp; Johnson vaccines would also protect against the variant.
With Post wires