The coronavirus is giving us all a lesson in viral evolution. As long as the virus exists, with millions of human hosts available to it, it will accumulate mutations. Most will be harmless. A few will bloom across the planet.
This is what the virus’ delta variant is doing. After emerging in the fall, it spread around the world. It’s thought to be responsible for much of the devastation wrought by COVID-19 in India. It’s widely dominant in the United Kingdom and led to a delay in the lifting of safety restrictions there. And it’s quickly spreading in the United States.
Infectious disease specialists say delta is more infectious than previous versions of the coronavirus. Some evidence suggests it can cause more hospitalizations and severe disease. That might be a recipe for a surge in cases where the variant is prevalent.
Scientists, however, note that there remains one great way to fight the delta variant and other strains: vaccination.
We’re fortunate in the U.S. to have several highly effective vaccines widely available. Research data from the United Kingdom reveal a high degree of protection against delta among people vaccinated with both doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. The Moderna vaccine is also an mRNA vaccine like Pfizer’s and is expected to offer similar levels of protection.
These vaccines have been incredibly effective against COVID-19, especially in preventing severe forms of the disease, scientists say. The vast majority of deaths caused by the coronavirus are now limited to the unvaccinated. It’s a sprawling tragedy of omission.
In the war against COVID-19, vaccination remains the best defense.