BOSTON (SHNS) – Since June, the Delta variant of COVID-19 has grown from showing up in about 13 percent of samples studied to now being recognized in 99 percent of cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday as he highlighted the dominance of Delta.
“This variant has become extraordinary in its ability to dominate,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said. “This becomes relevant when one thinks in terms of other variants that are becoming of interest to people.”
Fauci pointed to recent discussion around the Mu variant, which was first identified in December and has now been found in 49 states. That variant, despite recent talk of concern, represents just 0.5 percent of cases, Fauci said. He also pointed to the still-unnamed C.1.2 variant which still has not been identified in the United States.
“So the bottom line of all of this, the prevalence of the Mu and the C.1.2 variant is extremely low in the United States … because the Delta variant continues to dominate,” he said. “As always, we will continue to closely monitor these and other emerging variants. But the most important thing we can do to protect against any variant — the Delta, Mu or C.1.2 — is to get vaccinated.”