Coronavirus Variants: The Delta Variant and the Future Impact of Viral Mutations

If you are fully vaccinated, should you be worried about the impact of COVID-19 variants?  No, in fact vaccines have been shown to be highly effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths from these SARS-CoV-2 variants.  While the infamous Delta variant has now been detected in 98 countries and all 50 states, 99% of all COVID-19 deaths and hospitalization cases are unvaccinated, according to a recent study analyzing government data.  

What about the additional variants?  In June 2021, The World Health Organization (WHO) introduced a naming strategy that uses Greek alphabet nomenclature (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc.) to simplify discussion of SARS-CoV-2 variants with non-scientific audiences.  This article summarizes the attributes of these variants and their future impact to our global health.