Delta Variant Now Makes Up 83% Of New U.S. COVID Cases: CDC Director
Huff PostLOADING ERROR LOADING The more transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus now makes up about 83% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., with the majority of deaths occurring in unvaccinated people, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. “This is a dramatic increase up from 50%, the week of July 3,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky said of the current rate of cases involving the delta strain during a Senate hearing. While overall, the number of new COVID-19 cases has declined since vaccines were made available in the U.S. early this year, they have started to rise in recent weeks. It is up to us to utilize those tools to their maximum.” Fauci had warned late last month, when the variant made up an estimated 20% of new cases, that the variant would be the dominant strain in the U.S. in just a matter of weeks.