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 Here is what we know:
DELTA - STILL DOMINANT
The Delta variant, first detected in India in December 2020, remains
the most worrisome version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The World Health Organization classifies Delta as a variant of
concern, a category that means the variant is capable of increasing
transmissibility, causing more severe disease or reducing the
benefit of vaccines and treatments.
Delta's "superpower" is its transmissibility, according to Shane
Crotty, a virologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San
Diego.
Delta is more than two times as contagious as previous SARS-CoV-2
variants, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Studies suggest it may be more likely to put infected
people in the hospital than prior forms of the virus.
Delta also can cause symptoms two to three days sooner than the
original coronavirus, giving the immune system less time to mount a
defense.
People infected with Delta carry around 1,200 times more virus in
their noses compared with the original version of the coronavirus.
The amount of virus in vaccinated individuals who become infected
with Delta is on par with those who are unvaccinated, and both can
transmit the virus to others.
In vaccinated people, however, the amount of virus drops more
quickly, so they likely spread the virus for a shorter time.
According to the WHO, Delta makes up 99.5% of all genomic sequences
reported to public databases and has "outcompeted" other variants in
most countries.
A key exception is South America, where Delta has spread more
gradually, and other variants previously seen as possible global
threats - notably Gamma, Lambda and Mu - still contribute to a
significant proportion of reported cases.
DELTA OFFSPRING
Given Delta's global dominance, many vaccine experts now believe
that all future variants will be offshoots of Delta.
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 One notable Delta "grandchild"
is known as AY.4.2 and is concentrated largely
in the UK, where it makes up roughly 10% of
sequenced virus samples.
AY.4.2 carries two additional mutations in the
spike protein, which the virus uses to enter
cells. Scientists are still studying what
advantage, if any, these mutations confer.
The UK Health Security Agency has designated the AY.4.2 a "Variant
Under Investigation." A preliminary analysis suggests it does not
significantly impair vaccine effectiveness compared with Delta, but
there is some evidence that it could be slightly more transmissible,
the agency said.
According to the WHO, AY.4.2 has spread to at least 42 countries,
including the United States.
MORE ON THE WAY?
Virus experts are closely watching the evolution of Delta, looking
for any sign that it has acquired mutations that would allow the
highly transmissible variant to pierce the immune protection of
vaccines and natural infection.
Even so, while current vaccines prevent severe disease and death,
they do not block infection. The virus is still capable of
replicating in the nose, even among vaccinated people, who can then
transmit the disease through tiny, aerosolized droplets.
To defeat SARS-CoV-2 will likely require a new generation of
vaccines that also block transmission, according to Dr. Gregory
Poland, a vaccine developer at the Mayo Clinic. Until then, Poland
and other experts say, the world remains vulnerable.
(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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