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SARS-CoV-2 is fitter than ever. Its latest incarnation, the Delta (or B.1.617.2) variant, is the fastest-spreading form of the virus yet. First identified in India, which it swept through killing hundreds of thousands this spring, Delta has swiftly become the most dominant coronavirus variant worldwide. While it’s already driving rapid increases in hospitalizations and deaths—overwhelmingly in unvaccinated populations—simply by virtue of being more transmissible, it may also cause more severe disease than some previously dominating SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Meanwhile, emerging data suggest that when vaccinated people become infected with the Delta variant and develop symptoms—which, although increasing in frequency, remains exceedingly rare, officials report—they might be as contagious as unvaccinated infected people. Those findings motivated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to recommend in late July that in places with high transmission of the virus, even fully vaccinated people should wear masks indoors.
The Delta ...
