Fauci Raises Warning Flag On Future, More Dangerous Covid Variants

Fox News: Fauci: Allowing Virus To Replicate Could Make 'Worse Variant' That 'Could Impact The Vaccinated'
Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned that allowing the coronavirus delta variant to circulate freely among unvaccinated individuals could lead to a more potent variant that could harm even vaccinated individuals. The delta variant has already given rise to a small variant known as "delta plus" variant that has a spike protein mutation that may cause it to spread faster. So far, the variant has appeared in only a few cases in several countries, but the original delta variant rapidly spread through the United States and became the dominant strain after only a few months. (Aitken, 8/8)

CNN: Covid-19 Variants That Evade Protection Could Emerge In The US If More People Don't Get Vaccinated, Fauci Says 
Covid-19 vaccines are protecting more than half the US population from current strains, experts say. But if too few people get vaccinated, the virus will be allowed to continue to spread -- and the result could be an even more dangerous variant, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. "Then all of us who are protected against delta may not be protected against zaida (zeta)," the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said in a Q&A with USA Today published Sunday. (Holcombe, 8/9)

In updates on transmission and reinfection —

Reuters: Early Signs COVID-19 Vaccines May Not Stop Delta Transmission, England Says 
There are early signs that people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 may be able to transmit the Delta variant of the virus as easily as those who have not, scientists at Public Health England (PHE) said on Friday. The findings chime with those from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which last week raised concerns that vaccinated people infected with Delta could, unlike with other variants, readily transmit it. (8/6)

Fox News: Unvaccinated Individuals Twice As Likely To Face COVID-19 Reinfection: CDC Study
A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found that unvaccinated individuals who have had COVID-19 are twice as likely to face reinfection as individuals who have received the vaccine. The study, published as part of the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), examined hundreds of residents, finding that the unvaccinated individuals had 2.34 times greater odds of reinfection compared with fully vaccinated individuals. (Aitken, 8/6)

The Boston Globe: Vaccinated People Can Spread The Delta Variant. But Experts Disagree Whether Those Without Symptoms Should Be Tested
Edy Rees had a sore throat. Two years ago, even a month ago, such a minor symptom would not have seemed portentous. But late last month the 78-year-old Roslindale resident was worried about COVID-19. Scientists have recently discovered that even vaccinated people with mild symptoms may spread the coronavirus. Rees, who is fully vaccinated, spends a lot of time with a sick sister, and she wanted to know if she was at risk of infecting her vulnerable sibling. So Rees joined the thousands of people in Massachusetts — 50 percent more than a month ago — who are seeking COVID-19 tests. And she found it more complicated than expected. (Freyer and Lyons, 8/8)

In other news about the delta variant —

The Washington Post: Delta Defeats Other Variants As Scientists Race To Understand Its Tricks
The variant battle in the United States is over. Delta won. Since late last year, the country has been overrun by a succession of coronavirus variants, each with its own suite of mutations conferring slightly different viral traits. For much of this year, the alpha variant — officially known as B.1.1.7 and first seen in the United Kingdom — looked like the clear winner, accounting for the majority of cases by April. In second place was iota, B.1.526, first seen in New York City. A few others made the rogue’s gallery of variants: gamma, beta, epsilon. (Achenbach, Johnson, Sun and Shammas, 8/8)

CNBC: Companies Growing More Cautious About Delta Variant, Earnings Calls Show
When earnings season kicked off in earnest in mid-July, few companies fielded questions about or mentioned the Covid delta variant. That changed as new Covid-19 cases spiked and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed its stance on masks for vaccinated people, according to a CNBC analysis of earnings call transcripts. (Lucas, 8/7)

Axios: America Is Relying On Other Countries For Data On The Delta Variant 
America is increasingly reliant on data coming from other countries or from drug companies about the coronavirus vaccines' effectiveness over time, particularly when it comes to the Delta variant. Top Biden officials are growing frustrated with the lack of internal visibility into data being collected by the CDC, particularly as they try to deal with Delta's spread. (Owens, 8/9)

CNBC: Covid: Epidemiologist Larry Brilliant On Delta Variant, Vaccinations
The pandemic is not coming to an end soon — given that only a small proportion of the world population has been vaccinated against Covid-19, a well-known epidemiologist told CNBC. Dr. Larry Brilliant, an epidemiologist who was part of the World Health Organization’s team that helped eradicate smallpox, said the delta variant is “maybe the most contagious virus” ever. (Lee, 8/8)