The Delta variant that originated in India in December 2020 now makes up the majority of the SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in the US currently. It has surpassed the Alpha variant in prevalence.
It is clearly more transmissible than the original virus, and is spreading quickly, especially in areas with low vaccination rates.
It is impacting children more than previous variants as this population is still largely unvaccinated.
It is also not clear at this time whether it is more virulent than the other variants, with some data suggesting it does cause more severe disease, while other data does not show this.
The typical symptoms caused by the Delta variant are a little different from the original (wild-type) virus and the other variants in that it causes less coughing, shortness of breath, loss of taste and smell, and more sore throat, runny nose, fever, and headache.
Infrequently, even those who have been fully vaccinated can get infected with the Delta variant, called a “breakthrough” infection, and transmit it to others, but the good news is that all three approved vaccines do protect against a breakthrough infection becoming serious and leading to hospitalization or death.