The Delta Variant is not a Dick Francis Book

The Delta variant does sound like the title of a Dick Francis novel or a Tom Clancy Spy Thriller, alas as most of the world now knows, it is the strongest variant of the coronavirus to have mutated from the original COVID-19 virus which shut down the world for the past 18 months. The variant is called Delta because it is the 3rd variant to emerge, but the first to take hold.

How do variants take hold? Well, in countries with low vaccination rates those people who get sick but do not die from the coronavirus are hosts and while they have the virus, it is learning how to spread and survive. Because India was exporting most of its vaccines, the Delta variant had a large unvaccinated population to “play” in and it became more transmissible and more dangerous.

The good news is that over 75% of adults over the age of 65 in the US are vaccinated and the Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been shown to be highly effective in preventing life-threatening illness from any strain of the Coronavirus. New evidence is showing that the Delta variant is causing cold-like symptoms, including headache, runny nose and a sore throat, as opposed to loss of smell, shortness of breath, fever, and persistent dry cough.

So what should a fully-vaccinated person do? Wash your hands, wear a mask at large indoor gatherings, be aware of your surroundings – aware of people coughing, sneezing… in short, pay attention but do not panic. It is likely that there will be other variants. It is possible that everyone will need boosters to combat those variants. In the meantime, maybe pick up a good Tom Clancy novel (or watch the movie on Netflix).