The delta variant is a little different
than the original COVID-19, in that it's more transmissible.
So that is what is truly concerning.
For fully vaccinated individuals,
we're seeing that those individuals that break through
are not experiencing severe disease,
are not being hospitalized.
For individuals that are not vaccinated at all,
that is of high concern.
We're thinking about our own health.
But we also have to think about our community,
those individuals that are close to us--
our family, our friends, our community, our neighbors.
Those individuals may have underlying medical conditions
that they are aware of.
And there are also individuals that
may have underlying medical conditions that they are not
aware of.
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The delta variant is highly transmissible.
And when we compare that to the alpha variant, the one that
was first observed in the UK, that
tended to be a little bit more virulent.
However, the delta variant being more transmissible
is making up the largest number of cases in the UK.
In the United States, it's making up
over 50% of all of our new cases.
Why we should be concerned is that in some communities,
some states, it's making up over 80%.
And in terms of hospitalizations of individuals
with severe disease, it can and has been up to about 99%
attributed to the delta variant.
These deaths, hospitalizations, at this point,
with the vaccines, they are preventable.
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Variants are really smart.
And they try to survive.
And they evolve.
And that's why the vaccination is so important.
Because we do want to prevent new variants that get smarter.
Vaccinations will slow down the propagation of new variants.
And that's why it is important.
The delta variant is highly transmissible.
What we do not want to see is a variant
that is highly virulent, that would cause severe disease,
hospitalization, and death.
For some communities-- in particular,
rural and semirural, that do not have easy access to clinics,
medical hospitals that have the resources to take on and treat
the patients--
these are the communities that we really need to worry about.