"Delta Variant Becoming Dominant Strain Is a Matter of Time"... Emergency Response Worldwide

Pouch "Will Become Dominant Strain in US Within a Month"
Delta Variant Accounts for 90% of Infections in Europe by Late August

▲ Anthony Fauci, Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min, Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] As the analysis suggests that the India-originated 'Delta variant,' which has a faster transmission rate among COVID-19 variants, is only a matter of time before it becomes the dominant strain worldwide, countries are on high alert for quarantine measures. German Chancellor Angela Merkel particularly urged mandatory quarantine for arrivals from the UK, where over 90% of new cases are identified as the Delta variant.

On the 23rd (local time), Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said in an interview with CBS that when asked "When will the Delta variant become the dominant strain in a few weeks?" he replied, "It will become dominant in areas with low vaccination rates."

Dr. Fauci added, "The time it takes for the Delta variant to double is about two weeks," and "Considering this, the Delta variant will become the dominant strain in the U.S. within about a month." Currently, 20% of new infections in the U.S. are caused by the Delta variant, and it has been detected in 49 states including Washington D.C.

Europe is also accepting as a given that the Delta variant will become dominant. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) announced that in its assessment of the spread of the Delta variant across 30 European countries, including the 27 EU member states and the European Economic Area (EEA) countries Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, infections caused by the Delta variant are expected to account for 70% by early August and 90% by the end of August. Andrea Ammon, head of the ECDC, stated, "The Delta variant is expected to spread especially among younger people who are not eligible for vaccination."

Meanwhile, with the emergence of the 'Delta variant Plus,' which has even stronger transmissibility than the Delta variant, European countries are once again erecting barriers to prevent its spread. In the UK, 90% of new cases are attributed to the Delta variant, and 41 cases of the more transmissible Delta variant Plus have been confirmed.

On the 23rd (local time), ahead of the EU summit, Chancellor Merkel said, "Germany is mandatorily quarantining arrivals from the UK," and urged, "Quarantine measures should be imposed on arrivals from countries experiencing Delta variant outbreaks."

Chancellor Merkel has criticized Portugal for recently allowing quarantine-free entry for travelers from the UK. France, for its part, does not impose quarantine on fully vaccinated arrivals from the UK.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Dr. Doran Pink, deputy director of the vaccine division at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stated that there is a significant association between messenger RNA (mRNA) technology vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna and the occurrence of myocarditis and pericarditis. However, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services maintains that cases of myocarditis following vaccination are very rare and that vaccination remains safe.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.