The Delta variant is spreading fast, especially where vaccination rates are low
A new report stresses that only a complete dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can protect against this dangerous variant, which is now dominant in the U.S., U.K., and more than a dozen other countries.
With just 48 percent of the U.S. population fully vaccinated, and other countries struggling to secure vaccines, public health experts are concerned that the Delta variant—the most dangerous and transmissible form of the coronavirus to date—will trigger dramatic surges in cases and deaths in the U.S. and around the world.
First identified in India in March, Delta is now the dominant variant in the U.S. and accounts for more than half of new infections, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has spread to more than 90 countries and is also the most dominant variant in India, the United Kingdom,