It didn't take long after the World Health Organization (WHO) began referring to major coronavirus variants with Greek letters before the first such-named variant gained international notoriety.
The Delta variant, formally known as B.1.617.2 and first detected in India, now appears to be significantly more transmissible than previous versions of the coronavirus, according to public health officials in the U.K., where the variant accounts for more than 90% of new cases and has forced a four-week delay in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's grand reopening plans. It's also gaining steam in the United States, where it currently accounts for about 10% of new cases but is doubling in prevalence about every two weeks, according to former U.S. Food and Drug Administration chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb.
Because pandemics are inherently exponential, even just a slightly more transmissible version of the coronavirus could result in a massive increase in total cases if left unchecked. Moreover, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, recently warned that the Delta variant could also result in more severe disease and higher hospitalization rates; England's delay is in part intended to prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with patients.
When it comes to fighting the Delta variant, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that existing vaccines seem to work well against it—per a recent study from Public Health England, the Pfizer-BioNTech shot is 88% effective against severe disease caused by the Delta variant, for instance.
The bad news is that a full, two-shot regimen is required for maximum protection. That leaves countries like the U.K., which gambled on getting first doses to as many people as possible while delaying second doses, more exposed to this new variant. The picture in the U.S., where just under half of the population is already fully vaccinated, is a little better, but those who haven't been fully vaccinated remain at risk. The Delta variant could wreak even more havoc across the developing world, where countries have been struggling to secure and administer enough vaccine doses to make a dent in the outbreak even before the emergence of this new strain.
The takeaway for most people? If you're able to get fully vaccinated, do so as soon as possible. That will help protect you as an individual, as well as give the Delta variant less opportunity to spread in your community.
VACCINE TRACKER
About 374.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of this afternoon, of which 310.6 million doses have been administered thus far, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. About 43.7% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
Maryland-based pharmaceutical firm Novavax's coronavirus vaccine is 100% effective against moderate and severe disease and 90.4% effective overall, the company said today, based on a Phase 3 trial conducted in the U.S. and Mexico. Of 77 COVID-19 cases reported among the nearly 30,000 participants, 63 occurred among the placebo group, and just 14 among the vaccinated group (all cases in the vaccinated group were mild, Novavax said). The company plans to publish its results in a peer-reviewed journal soon. However, the vaccine may not be needed in the U.S., where hesitancy, rather than supply, is currently the biggest roadblock to better uptake.
Iran has approved the country's first domestically-produced coronavirus vaccine on an emergency-use basis, the Associated Press reports, citing state media. The exact efficacy and safety figures of the vaccine, called COVIran Barekat, remain unclear. Tehran officials are also expecting another vaccine, produced jointly with Cuba, to come online shortly. Iran has so far vaccinated fewer than 1% of its nearly 83 million residents, in part with doses sent by Russia and China. In a recent Bloomberg op-ed, writer Eli Lake made the case that the U.S. should supply Iran with vaccine doses both to help control the global outbreak and as a cunning geopolitical move.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
The Global Situation
Nearly 176 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 3.8 million people have died. On June 13, there were 252,368 new cases and 5,555 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here is every country with over 3 million confirmed cases:
England's plans to fully reopen next Monday are to be delayed by four weeks as the Delta coronavirus variant spreads around the country, the BBC reports. Capacity limits on venues including pubs and movie theaters will remain in place, and nightclubs will stay fully closed. The move is intended to give Britain—which focused on giving first shots to as many people as possible while delaying second doses—more time to fully vaccinate residents to better protect them against the new, more transmissible variant.
Meanwhile, on the European mainland, other countries are relaxing some of their rules. Germany, for instance, is now allowing states to set their own outdoor masking requirements as the average number of new cases in the country has fallen under 1,000 per day, the New York Times reports. Vaccinated Germans are already allowed to enjoy outdoor dining and other similar activities.
Leaders of the G7 countries—the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan—called yesterday for a new and transparent probe of the coronavirus pandemic's origins, The Hill reports. A WHO report published in March found that the pandemic likely began via animal-to-human transmission in China. However, critics accused Beijing of interfering with the WHO's investigation, and a growing number of reputable experts are demanding a more complete investigation into the theory that the virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, the site of the first known cases.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. had recorded more than 33.4 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. Nearly 599,800 people have died. On June 13, there were 4,575 new cases and 105 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
A federal judge over the weekend dismissed a closely watched lawsuit over Houston Methodist Hospital's employee vaccination requirement, CNN reports. The 100-plus staffers who joined the suit argued that it would be "wrongful" for the hospital to fire them over their refusal to get what they called an "experimental and dangerous" vaccine. But U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Hughes sided with the hospital, finding that Texas law only protects workers from being fired if they refuse an order to perform a criminal act. The suit could have national ramifications, especially considering that about one in five frontline health care workers do not plan to get vaccinated, according to a February/March survey undertaken by KFF and the Washington Post.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of June 14, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
What Kids Learned During the Pandemic
It's been a strange year-plus for everybody, but especially for kids, whose formative years have been irrevocably interrupted by a major historical event on par with a world war. Here, a handful of young people tell TIME what the pandemic has been like for them, and what they've learned from their experience. Read more here.
How Anti-Vaccine Activists Are Abusing a Key Database
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a federal system open to anyone who wants to submit reports of side effects they believe are tied to a vaccine, is intended to help public health experts monitor potential problems. But as NPR reports, VAERS data about the COVID-19 shots are being misrepresented by anti-vaccine crusaders. Read more here.
A Compelling Hybrid Theory
How can employers help ensure a level playing field between their in-person and remote workers as offices reopen? Writer Anne Helen Petersen has a bold suggestion: prevent all employees from coming in "all day, every day," so that everyone is a hybrid worker to some extent. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Alex Fitzpatrick and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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