Delta Variant on Track to Become Dominant COVID-19 Strain in Weeks
‘THE GREATEST THREAT’
The Delta variant of COVID-19 could become the dominant strain of the virus in the United States in the next two to three weeks, The Wall Street Journal reports. CDC data shows that cases of the variant, which originated in India, doubled in the two weeks to June 19, and now make up 20 percent of positive tests. The highly infectious variant is on track to make up more than 50 percent of COVID infections by mid-July, said William Lee, the vice president of science at Helix, a population genomics company. In a Tuesday briefing, Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor, said: “The Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19.” The variant poses a risk for severe disease among those who are unvaccinated while vaccines have been shown to provide significant protection, said Fauci. The White House announced Tuesday that the U.S. will likely not reach Biden’s goal of 70 percent of Americans receiving one dose of the vaccine by July 4.