The delta variant of SARS-CoV-2: What do we know about it?
The variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus called delta continues to spread rapidly across many parts of the world. What do we know about this variant so far?
The delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 — scientifically known as the B.1.617.2 lineage — was first identified by scientists in December 2020 in India.
In April 2021, the delta variant became the most commonly spread variant that caused new COVID-19 cases in India. Since then, this variant has been reported in 80 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Recently, there have been concerns — particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States — that the delta variant could give rise to another COVID-19 wave, thus setting back national and international efforts to ease pandemic restrictions.
According to the latest report from Public Health England (PHE), the delta variant may have become the dominant variant in the U.K., with “74% of sequenced cases [of SARS-CoV-2 infection] and 96% of sequenced and genotyped cases” being caused by this variant.
