The Delta COVID-19 Variant: How Your Community Can Work to Stay Safe
4 Minutes
Team Curative
Jul 19, 2021
With the number of new COVID-19 cases recently increasing in almost all states, many are wondering about the specifics of the new Delta COVID variant and its potential impact on the pandemic. This page provides an overview of the Delta COVID variant and answers key questions surrounding it, such as:
What is the Delta COVID variant?
Why is the Delta COVID variant important to be aware of?
What are the symptoms of the Delta COVID variant?
How can my community prepare for and respond to the Delta COVID variant?
What is a COVID Variant?
The Delta variant is a naturally occurring mutation of the SARS CoV-2 virus, the virus that causes COVID-19. There is evidence that the Delta variant can increase transmissibility, hospitalizations, or deaths and reduce antibodies generated during previous infections.
According to the CDC, virus mutations are both normal and expected for a virus such as COVID-19. Click here to view the CDC’s overview of COVID-19 variants.
Click here for an overview by Marta Gaglia, an Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at the Tufts School of Medicine, on how viruses mutate to create variations of their original forms.
The CDC monitors virus variants as they are detected. Click here to see the current list of COVID-19 variants, including their suspected countries of origin and when they were first detected inside of the U.S.
Why the Delta COVID Variant is Important to Know About
The CDC monitors how many COVID-19 cases are a result of a COVID variant. In June 2021, the Delta COVID variant resulted in a significant number of COVID-19 cases. Click here to see the data.
Experts warn that the Delta COVID variant could have a significant impact on the pandemic at large. “Delta will certainly accelerate the pandemic,” said F. Perry Wilson, MD, a Yale Medicine epidemiologist, during an interview with Yale Medicine. “…What seems like a fairly modest rate of infectivity can cause a virus to dominate very quickly—like we’re seeing now. Delta is outcompeting everything else and becoming the dominant strain.”
Are the Symptoms Different for the Delta Variant?
Studies have been conducted in an attempt to determine if the Delta COVID variant affects the body differently. Click here to read a study conducted by The Lancet that looked at hospitalization and death rates in the U.K. from the Delta variant.
“It seems like cough and loss of smell are less common. And headache, sore throat, runny nose, and fever are present based on the most recent surveys in the U.K., where more than 90% of the cases are due to the Delta strain,” said Inci Yildirim, a Yale Medicine Pediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist and Vaccinologist, during an interview.
How Your Community Can Work to Stay Protected Against the Delta COVID Variant
Continued COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, along with other public health strategies, are important steps to decrease the virus transmission as the Delta variant accounts for a growing proportion of new coronavirus cases across the United States.
All COVID-19 tests available at Curative can detect SARS CoV-2, regardless of variant. To book a COVID-19 test, click here.
Additionally, here are resources on how to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in your community, advice from the CDC on what to do if you feel sick with COVID-19 symptoms.
If you would like to become vaccinated against COVID-19, click here to find a vaccination center near you.
Curative Inc. and its subsidiary, Curative Management Services LLC, engage with medical entities that provide vaccination services.
