Delta variant represents 20% of US infections
FILE - In this Monday, April 26, 2021 file phto, a nursing student administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center at UNLV in Las Vegas.[AP Photo/John Locher/File]
The so-called COVID-19 delta variant which was first detected in India now represents more than 20% of coronavirus infections in the U.S. in the last two weeks, or double what it was when the Centers for Disease Control last reported on the variant’s prevalence.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned that the U.S. could be following the United Kingdom’s course, where the variant has become the dominant strain due to rapid spread among youth.
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Fauci says indications are that the COVID-19 vaccines remain effective against the variant.
The variant is accounting for half of new infections in the regions that include Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.