COVID-19 Delta variant likely to become dominant U.S. strain, Gottlieb says - CBS News

COVID-19 Delta variant likely to become dominant U.S. strain, Gottlieb says - CBS News Gottlieb says the mRNA vaccines are sufficient to protect us from the Delta variant. I'm vaccinated, but will probably start taking vitamin D again and wearing a mask in crowded spaces. "The mRNA vaccine seems to be highly effective, two doses of that vaccine against this variant. The viral vector vaccines from J&J and AstraZeneca also appear to be effective, about 60% effective. The mRNA vaccines are about 88% effective," he said, referring to the vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. "So we have the tools to control this and defeat it. We just need to use those tools."

What You Need To Know About The Delta COVID-19 Variant | HuffPost Life

What You Need To Know About The Delta COVID-19 Variant | HuffPost Life: Summary: more transmissible, and rumors of increased severity, but that hasn't been confirmed. Some strange fungal infections were showing up in India, and some talk of it affecting younger victims more severely than other variants.

WHO renames COVID variants with Greek letter names to avoid stigma

WHO renames COVID variants with Greek letter names to avoid stigma The new system, which was announced Monday, is based on the letters of the Greek alphabet. The United Kingdom variant, called by scientists B.1.1.7, will now be Alpha. B.1.351, the South Africa variant will be Beta, and the B.1.617.2 variant discovered in India will now be known as Delta.<\i> This seems like a good idea, especially if it increases the likelihood of reporting variants. I can never remember the actual names anyway. The Delta variant, or the variant formerly known as the India variant, has come to New Jersey.

Neutralising antibody activity against SARS-CoV-2 VOCs B.1.617.2 and B.1.351 by BNT162b2 vaccination - The Lancet

Neutralising antibody activity against SARS-CoV-2 VOCs B.1.617.2 and B.1.351 by BNT162b2 vaccination - The Lancet The gist of this is that the older you are, the fewer antibodies you produce over time after having received the Pfizer vaccine, and this may have implications for the variants coming out of India that are now dominant in the Uk and are coming soon to a theater near you.

Vietnam identifies new, highly transmissible variant of coronavirus | TheHill

Vietnam identifies new, highly transmissible variant of coronavirus | TheHill So there's a variant with elements of the India and UK mutations, but the actual covid infection rate is decreasing, although the numbers of deaths of increased slightly. Essentially, nobody knows what is going on right now and by the time you do know, with a virus, it's too late.

Opinion | Covid's Increasing Spread Is a Global Threat - The New York Times

Opinion | Covid's Increasing Spread Is a Global Threat - The New York Times an opinion piece argues that the US needs to assist with global vaccination in order to quell the new variants, and that re-infection may be possible.

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A variant with higher transmissibility is a huge danger to people without immunity either from vaccination or prior infection, even if the variant is no more deadly than previous versions of the virus. Residents of countries like Taiwan or Vietnam that had almost completely kept out the pandemic, and countries like India and Nepal that had fared relatively well until recently, have fairly little immunity, and are largely unvaccinated. A more transmissible variant can burn through such an immunologically naïve population very fast.

Vietnam Detects New Highly Transmissible Coronavirus Variant : Coronavirus Updates : NPR

Vietnam Detects New Highly Transmissible Coronavirus Variant : Coronavirus Updates : NPR: Since the pandemic began, Vietnam has reported 6,713 cases and 47 deaths as of Saturday. A little more than half of the cases and 12 of the deaths were reported in the last month, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Only 47 deaths. I had no idea.