- The Delta
variant is the "greatest threat" to USCOVID-19 efforts, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday. - He said its prevalence in the US doubled within two weeks, a worrying sign.
- The variant is more transmissible and dangerous than other types of the coronavirus.
The proportion of Delta-variant coronavirus cases in the US doubled in two weeks, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a $4 Fauci, the White House chief medical advisor, said the variant was the "greatest threat" to the US efforts to eliminate COVID-19.
The Delta variant now makes up 20.6% of the COVID-19 cases in the US. That is about double the rate seen on June 5, when the variant made up 9.9% of cases.
On May 22, 2.7% of cases were caused by the Delta variant, Fauci said.
He said the US seemed to be "following the same pattern" as the UK, where the variant $4 and now makes up 99% of cases.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" on Friday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the variant would likely become dominant in the US $4.
On Monday, the World Health Organization called the Delta variant $4 of the coronavirus yet.
That's because - compared to the Alpha variant, which to date is still dominant in the US - the Delta variant is a lot more transmissible.
It also appears to $4 and seems more likely to $4 given by one dose of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.
Two doses of those vaccine are still effective at preventing $4.
It's unclear how much protection the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines give against the variant.
On Friday, President Joe Biden $4 to get fully vaccinated.
He said young adults are particularly vulnerable as they are less likely to be vaccinated and more likely to be socializing than older people.