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As long as the coronavirus is spreading through the population, new variants will occur and mutations will continue to happen.
However, we can slow the emergence of new variants by:
- Taking protective measures (wearing masks, social distancing, hand hygiene)
- Getting COVID-19 vaccine
About the Delta variant:
- It is more contagious than the other strains
- It might cause more severe symptoms than the other variants in unvaccinated persons
- Wearing a mask in public indoor places is recommended, even if people are fully vaccinated
- FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective, but breakthrough infections sometimes occur
- Fully vaccinated people with Delta variant breakthrough infections may still spread the virus to others. However, vaccinated people appear to be infectious for a shorter period
Symptoms
The Delta variant symptoms are the same as the original version of COVID-19:
- Cough
- Fever or headache
- Congestion or runny nose
- Tiredness
- Loss of taste or smell
However, recent research found that the Delta variant grows more rapidly with greater levels in the respiratory tract.
References:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html
https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/5-things-to-know-delta-variant-covid
Bernal JL, Andrews N, Gower C, et al. Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccines against the B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant. N Engl J Med. 2021 Jul 21; doi: 10.1056