About the COVID-19 Delta Variant

If you have been keeping with COVID-19 news, you’ve likely heard about the delta variant and its dangers. But do you know what exactly is a viral variant and more importantly, do you know what YOU can do to keep safe? In this article, we will go over the origin, transmission, and prevention of this novel COVID variant by breaking down the most recent public health information we have about it. 

Like other organisms, viruses evolve periodically to better adapt to their environment. In the process, they create variants that are similar to the parent organism, but with slight differences in their DNA. Most of these changes are harmless and make the virus retain its original infectivity or even less infective. However, sometimes a virus can go through a change that makes it more effective and become the prominent form of the virus in the general populace. 

This is exactly what happened with the delta variant, which was first identified in India circa December 2020. Dr. Inci Yildirim, MD, Ph.D., an infectious disease physician at Yale Medicine explains that the delta variant has a mutation that allows it to more quickly replicate in human cells. This change allows for the virus to grow, proliferate, and spread faster. A CDC report states that the delta variant is two times as contagious as previous forms of COVID-19. 

So what can you do to be safe from getting infected? The good news is that it is the same advice that has been iterated before. Getting vaccinated, following social distancing, and wearing masks in public settings. While there are a few breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated individuals, these make up less than 1% of all new COVID-19 cases. (CDC) Furthermore, all approved COVID-19 vaccines in the US (Pfizer/Bionetch, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson) have efficacies that range from 64% to 94%. 

Furthermore, it is imperative that everyone who is eligible get vaccines as soon as possible. The larger the group of unvaccinated individuals, the more likely it is for the virus to spread among the populace and even manifest into new forms. For more information about getting a vaccine please visit vaccines.gov.