Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Delta-Driven Infections Quickly Jump To Over 20% Of New US Covid Cases
NPR: Fauci Warns Dangerous Delta Variant Is The Greatest Threat To U.S. COVID Efforts
The dangerous Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading so quickly in the United States that it's likely the mutant strain will become predominant in the nation within weeks, according to federal health officials and a new analysis. At a White House briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health said 20.6% of new cases in the U.S. are due to the Delta variant. And other scientists tracking the variant say it is on track to become the dominant virus variant in the U.S. "The Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19," Fauci said. (Stein, 6/22)
Fox News: Delta Coronavirus Variant Doubling Biweekly, Now 20% Of Samples, Fauci Says
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Tuesday that the highly transmissible Delta variant has climbed to now account for over 20% of sequenced samples. The variant, first detected in India and now found in over 80 countries, is becoming the dominant strain worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. The B.1.617.2 strain spreads more readily than the B.1.1.7 Alpha variant and the wild-type virus, and has been linked to an increased hospitalization risk. (Rivas, 6/22)
CIDRAP: Delta And Gamma Variants Make Up Larger Share Of US COVID Cases
The Delta and Gamma variants (B1617.2 and P.1, respectively) are on track to surpass the Alpha variant (B117) in the United States, according to a study on the non–peer-reviewed medRxiv preprint server yesterday. The researchers looked at 243,769 positive COVID-19 samples collected from Jan 1 to Jun 15 and viral sequence data from 19,987. Distribution is not representative of the US population, they note; for instance, Florida had 25.7% of the samples. (6/22)
The Wall Street Journal: Delta Covid-19 Variant Could Be Dominant In U.S. In Two To Three Weeks, Study Says
The highly transmissible Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus is spreading so rapidly in the U.S. that it could become the dominant strain in the next two to three weeks, researchers said, adding urgency to the nationwide vaccination drive. The Delta strain, which first emerged in India in late 2020 and is also known as B.1.617.2, will probably make up 50% of Covid-19 infections in the U.S. by early to mid-July, said William Lee, vice president of science at population genomics company Helix and an author of the new analysis. (McKay, 6/22)
States and cities urge caution against the delta variant —
Fox News: Colorado Says Delta Variant Accounts For 40% Of State's Cases
Health officials in Colorado have predicted that the Delta coronavirus variant is likely to become the dominant strain circulating in the state after seeing a steady increase in recent weeks. In a briefing held Monday, the state’s epidemiologist said the strain now accounts for 40% of the state’s cases, while nationwide it makes up about 20% of cases. Dr. Rachel Herlihy said Colorado is second in the U.S. in terms of Delta cases, falling only behind Missouri. "We’ve seen that rise pretty rapidly in Colorado," Herlihy said. "It’s not surprising because what we know about this variant is it is much more transmissible than other types of SARS-CoV-2 variants." (Hein, 6/22)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: St. Louis Area Health Officials On Edge As Delta Variant Increases Sickness Across Missouri
As outbreaks in southwestern and northern Missouri continue to place the state first in the nation for the number of new coronavirus cases per capita, health officials warn that it’s only a matter of time before cases and hospitalizations rise in the St. Louis area. The outbreaks are driven by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is projected to quickly become the dominant variant in the U.S. It is much more infectious than original strains of the virus and has been shown to cause more severe disease, placing unvaccinated individuals at higher risk of ending up in the hospital. (Munz, 6/22)
Salt Lake Tribune: Delta Variant ‘On The Way’ To Being Dominant COVID-19 Strain, University Of Utah Health Experts Say
People who don’t get vaccinated against COVID-19 are becoming more likely to get sick from the coronavirus, experts at the University of Utah say — because of the spread of the Delta variant. “Choosing not to get vaccinated is a choice to ultimately get infected by this virus,” said Stephen Goldstein, a virologist and post-doctoral researcher at the University of Utah School of Medicine, on Tuesday during a briefing carried over Facebook Live. The Delta variant of the coronavirus, which first emerged in India late last year, has already become the dominant strain of the virus in the United Kingdom and is approaching becoming the dominant strain in the United States, said Dr. Sankar Swaminathan, chief of the division of infectious diseases at University of Utah Health. (Means, 6/22)
In related news from overseas —
CIDRAP: Multiple Nations Battle COVID-19 Surges As Delta Variant Advances In Israel
As countries in Africa, the Americas, and Europe battle fresh COVID surges, a rise in Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant cases in Israel—known for its strong vaccine rollout and COVID measures—is raising new alarm bells. World Health Organization (WHO) officials have characterized a "two track" pandemic, made up of higher-income countries driving down cases as vaccination efforts gain tractions, contrasted with others struggling with new or ongoing surges, due to a host of factors, including scarce vaccine, more transmissible variants, and social mixing. (Schnirring, 6/22)
The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Delta Variant Threatens To Set Back Europe’s Recovery
The Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly across continental Europe, raising the risk of a rebound in infections and a delay to the region’s economic comeback. The variant, first discovered in India late last year, has prompted Portugal to seal off its capital city of Lisbon on weekends. In Germany, where Delta is still rare, scientists expect it to make up the majority of Covid-19 infections in the coming months. In France and Italy, the prevalence of the variant is still below 5%, according to official figures, but has at least doubled in recent weeks. (Sylvers and Kowsmann, 6/22)
Reuters: AstraZeneca Vaccine Effective Against COVID-19 Variants Identified In India
AstraZeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine is effective against Delta and Kappa variants, which were first identified in India, the company said on Tuesday, citing a study. The study by the Oxford University investigated the ability of monoclonal antibodies in blood from recovered people and from those vaccinated to neutralize the Delta and Kappa variants, the statement said. (6/22)
