What is the ‘delta plus’ variant of the coronavirus?
What is the “delta plus” variant? (AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)© Provided by Associated Press What is the “delta plus” variant? (AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)
What is the “delta plus” variant?
It’s a relative of the delta variant, identified by British scientists last month.
Because it isn't a variant of interest or concern, it has not yet been officially named after a letter of the Greek alphabet, like the other worrisome variants.
Scientists are monitoring the delta-related variant — known as AY.4.2. — to see if it might spread more easily or be more deadly than previous versions of the coronavirus. In a recent report, U.K. officials said this variant makes up 6% of all analyzed COVID-19 cases in the country and is “on an increasing trajectory.”
The variant has two mutations in the spike protein, which helps the coronavirus invade the body’s cells. These changes have also been seen in other versions of the virus since the pandemic started, but haven’t gone very far, Francois Balloux, director of the Genetics Institute at University College London.
The delta variant remains “by far the most dominant variant in terms of global circulation” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s technical lead on COVID-19, at a public session this week.
“Delta is dominant, but delta is evolving,” she said, adding that the more the virus circulates, the greater chances it has to mutate.
The U.N. health agency is currently tracking 20 variations of the delta variant. The AY.4.2 is “one to watch because we have to continuously keep an eye on how this virus is changing," said Van Kerkhove.
In the U.S., the delta variant accounts for nearly all COVID-19 cases. The newer “delta plus” variant has been spotted “on occasion,” but it's not yet a concern, health officials said.
The AP is answering your questions about the coronavirus in this series. Submit them at: [email protected]. Read more here:
Can new variants of the coronavirus keep emerging?
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02
AP FACT CHECK: Biden overstates his record on COVID vaccine
President Joe Biden participates in a CNN town hall at the Baltimore Center Stage Pearlstone Theater, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, in Baltimore, with moderator Anderson Cooper. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)© Provided by Associated Press President Joe Biden participates in a CNN town hall at the Baltimore Center Stage Pearlstone Theater, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, in Baltimore, with moderator Anderson Cooper. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden botched the numbers behind the COVID-19 vaccine rollout Thursday as he stretched to take all the credit for the surge of shots once he was in office.
A look at his remarks during a CNN town hall event:
BIDEN: “When I first was elected, there were only 2 million people who had COVID shots in the United States of America — and the vaccine. Now we got 190 million, because I went out and bought everything I could do and buy in sight and it worked."
President Joe Biden greets people during a break as he participates in a CNN town hall at the Baltimore Center Stage Pearlstone Theater, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)© Provided by Associated Press President Joe Biden greets people during a break as he participates in a CNN town hall at the Baltimore Center Stage Pearlstone Theater, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
THE FACTS: No, that’s not how the vaccine rollout in the U.S. happened. Biden is overstating his part.
First, it's not true that 2 million people had shots when he was elected in November. The COVID-19 vaccines were still awaiting emergency authorization then. The first shots were administered to the public in mid-December.
Nearly 16 million doses had been administered by Jan. 20, the day Biden took office. And Biden didn’t buy up all the doses — the Trump administration had purchased 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna in December, weeks before Biden was inaugurated.
President Joe Biden participates in a CNN town hall at the Baltimore Center Stage Pearlstone Theater, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)© Provided by Associated Press President Joe Biden participates in a CNN town hall at the Baltimore Center Stage Pearlstone Theater, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The Trump administration's vaccine plan fell short of its goals and suffered from disarray out of the gate. On Inauguration Day, less than half of the 36 million doses distributed to the states by the federal government had been administered.
Even so, the plan set the stage for an acceleration of vaccinations that did not happen solely because Biden "went out and bought everything I could do."
Seitz reported from Columbus, Ohio. David Klepper in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.
EDITOR'S NOTE — A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.
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03
Pick any vaccine: CDC OKs COVID boosters – even mixing and matching – beginning as soon as Friday
Americans are now free to get a free booster dose of all three COVID-19 vaccines, and can even choose to mix and match their vaccines, after the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on new recommendations Thursday night.
At the same time, CDC recommended boosters for certain people who got Moderna vaccine and all 15 million Americans who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Clinics, doctors and pharmacies can begin giving boosters as soon as Friday.
"The evidence shows that all three COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States are safe – as demonstrated by the over 400 million vaccine doses already given. And, they are all highly effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death" Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC's director, said in a statement.
COVID booster questions, answered: Do you need another shot? Can you mix and match vaccines?
A CDC advisory committee recommended Thursday afternoon that people be allowed to choose among the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines as a COVID-19 booster shot. The committee said it could increase protection against the disease that is killing on average 1,093 Americans a day.
A booster of the Moderna vaccine was recommended at least six months after people get their second shot, but only for those 65 and older or 18 and older if they're at high risk for severe COVID-19, or their jobs or living conditions put them at high risk of exposure to the virus.
A second dose of the J&J vaccine was recommended for everyone who received their first dose at least two months ago.
This Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, file photo shows vials for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines at a temporary clinic in Exeter, N.H.
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which met Thursday, made its decisions based on data presented by the vaccine makers and a National Institutes of Health study. It also considered the endorsement of similar recommendations on Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration.
A booster dose is not required for a person to be considered fully immunized. People who received two doses of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, or one dose of J&J, are fully immunized.
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All booster doses will be free, just as all COVID-19 vaccines are, Reddy said.
FDA authorized Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots for people 65 and older or at high risk for COVID-19 because of health problems, jobs or living conditions on Sept. 22.
The Moderna booster dose is 50 micrograms, one-half the initial 100 micrograms of the initial two doses. Moderna used the smaller dose because it restored the level of immunity as well as a larger dose.
“Our goal is to always use the dose that is most optimally effective for boosting,” said Dr. Jacqueline Miller, Moderna’s senior vice president for infectious diseases.
Johnson & Johnson presented data showing that a single dose of its vaccine provided 74% protection against severe disease globally and 70% protection against all symptomatic disease. Trends over time showed a decline in effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19, most likely linked to coronavirus variants, said Dr. Penny Heaton, the company's global therapeutic area head for vaccines.
More than 189 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, about 57% of the total population. Hospitalization rates among unvaccinated Americans are between nine and 15 times higher than among vaccinated people, according to the CDC.
Almost 6% of fully vaccinated Americans have already received a COVID-19 booster shot, according to CDC data.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID boosters get OK from CDC director, can begin as soon as Friday