Full Two-Dose Vaccine Regimen Offers Best Protection Against Delta Variant: Study

Stat: Study Highlights Need For Full Covid Vaccination To Protect Against Delta
In the welter of news about the Delta variant spreading around the world, one theme has emerged: This form of the virus that causes Covid-19 is challenging, but vaccination works to protect people against it. A new study published Thursday in Nature adds new detail about the dominant variant, analyzing how well Delta, in a lab dish, was able to evade monoclonal antibody drugs such as bamlamivimab and natural antibodies made in our bodies after infection or vaccination. Looking at both kinds of antibodies in blood drawn from 162 patients and how they reacted to Delta, researchers from the Institut Pasteur in France found lower protection against the variant than against three other variants also notable for how easily they spread from person to person. (Cooney, 7/8)

The Washington Post: New Study On Delta Variant Reveals Importance Of Receiving Both Vaccine Shots, Highlights Challenges Posed By Mutations 
New laboratory research on the swiftly spreading delta variant of the coronavirus is highlighting the threats posed by viral mutations, adding urgency to calls to accelerate vaccination efforts across the planet. A peer-reviewed report from scientists in France, published Thursday in the journal Nature, found that the delta variant has mutations that allow it to evade some of the neutralizing antibodies produced by vaccines or by a natural infection. A single shot of a two-dose vaccine “barely” offers any protection, researchers reported. (Achenbach, 7/8)

NPR: Fauci Says Current Vaccines Will Stand Up To The Delta Variant
Coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S. are down dramatically from last winter's peaks, but the road ahead could still be a long one, with the rapid spread of the delta variant — now the dominant strain of the virus in the U.S. — and mounting questions over how effective current vaccines are against it. Addressing those concerns in an interview Thursday with NPR's All Things Considered, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said studies continue to show that vaccines are not only effective against the virus, they're also highly effective at preventing serious disease or hospitalization. (Louise Kelly, 7/8)

More on the state of the virus variants —

Politico: Delta Variant Said To Be Far More Widespread Than Federal Estimates 
The more-transmissible Delta coronavirus variant is believed to be significantly more widespread than the current federal projections, according to two senior Biden administration health officials with knowledge of the situation. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released late Tuesday shows the Delta strain accounted for more than 51 percent of new Covid-19 cases from June 20 to July 3. But the reality on the ground is likely much higher because states and private labs are taking weeks to report testing results to the CDC, the officials said. (Banco, Goldberg and Lim, 7/8)

NPR: The Delta Variant Isn't Just Hyper-Contagious. It Also Grows More Rapidly Inside You
After months of data collection, scientists agree: The delta variant is the most contagious version of the coronavirus worldwide. It spreads about 225% faster than the original version of the virus, and it's currently dominating the outbreak in the United States. A new study, published online Wednesday, sheds light on why. It finds that the variant grows more rapidly inside people's respiratory tracts and to much higher levels, researchers at the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported. On average, people infected with the delta variant had about 1,000 times more copies of the virus in their respiratory tracts than those infected with the original strain of the coronavirus, the study reported. (Doucleff, 7/8)

CNN: Coronavirus Variants: Here's What We Know 
The Delta variant of coronavirus is now the dominant lineage in the US, parts of Europe and elsewhere. Also known as B.1.617.2, it is clearly more transmissible, but it is unclear if it causes more severe disease. It's taken over from the B.1.1.7 or Alpha variant in most of the countries where it is spreading fastest, but most also still have a mix of variants. Here's what scientists know about the most common among them: (Fox, 7/8)

CNBC: Here's What You Need To Know The Lambda Variant
While the world is still contending with the rapid spread of the delta variant, which has usurped the alpha variant in terms of transmissibility and the potential to cause hospitalizations in unvaccinated people, there is now a new variant that experts are monitoring: The lambda variant. Here’s what we know (and don’t know) about it. (Ellyat, 7/9)