Delta variant - New Scientist article 3/7/21 (Pt 1 of 2)6 Jul 2021 20:35
Just to augment BoilB's post on the Lamda variant:
The more transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus is on track to become the dominant form globally, experts tell New Scientist. First seen in India and now in at least 85 nations, its spread has led to new lockdowns and other curbs across the world.
“Globally there is a lot of concern about the delta variant, and the World Health Organization is concerned about it too,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, at a press conference on 25 June.
Currently, delta is recorded as the second most dominant variant of concern globally. At around 80,000 cases detected to date, it still lags behind the 1 million detected cases of alpha, the variant first identified in the UK.
But delta’s rapid dominance in the UK shows how fast it can spread, even in a country with high vaccination rates. Delta was first detected in the UK in mid-April. It now accounts for 95 per cent of all new cases and has delayed the easing of restrictions.
The variant is also spreading fast through Europe. In Portugal, it amounts to 70 per cent of cases in Lisbon. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control projects that, by the end of August, delta will be responsible for 90 per cent of European Union cases.
It is calling for an acceleration of EU vaccination programmes, noting that a double dose provides nearly the same protection against the delta variant as against older ones.
Other parts of the world are also struggling with delta. Lockdowns have been imposed in Greater Sydney, Australia, following more than 100 new cases of the variant. Israel has reintroduced a mandate on face masks just 10 days after lifting it, following imported cases of delta. In the US, the number of cases of the variant has increased from about 10 per cent of infections on 15 June to around 20 per cent now.
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