COVID-19 Variants

COVID-19 Variants

Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur. Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear. Other times, new variants persist. Numerous variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are being tracked in the United States and globally during this pandemic.

Types of Variants
Scientists monitor all variants but may classify certain ones as variants of interest, concern, or high consequence based on how easily they spread, how severe their symptoms are, and how they are treated.
Some variants seem to spread more easily and quickly than other variants, which may lead to more cases of COVID-19. An increase in the number of cases will put more strain on healthcare resources, lead to more hospitalizations, and potentially more deaths.

Variants of Concern in the US
Alpha - B.1.1.7
First identified: United Kingdom
Spread: Spreads much faster than other variants
Severe illness and death: May potentially cause more people to get sicker and to die
Vaccine: Currently authorized vaccines do work against this variant. Some breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people are expected but remain rare. All vaccines are particularly effective against severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
Treatments: Treatments are effective against this variant

Beta - B.1.351
First identified: South Africa
Spread: May spread faster than other variants
Severe illness and death: Current data do not indicate more severe illness or death than other variants
Vaccine: Currently authorized vaccines do work against this variant. Some breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people are expected but remain rare. All vaccines are particularly effective against severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
Treatments: Certain monoclonal antibody treatments are less effective against this variant

Gamma - P.1
First identified: Japan/Brazil
Spread: Spreads faster than other variants
Severe illness and death: Current data do not indicate more severe illness or death than other variants
Vaccine: Currently authorized vaccines do work against this variant. Some breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people are expected but remain rare. All vaccines are particularly effective against severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
Treatments: Certain monoclonal antibody treatments are less effective against this variant

Delta - B.1.617.2
First identified: India
Spread: Spreads much faster than other variants
Severe illness and death: May cause more severe cases than the other variants
Vaccine: Infections happen in only a small proportion of people who are fully vaccinated, even with the Delta variant. Some breakthrough infections are expected, but remain rare. However, preliminary evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people who do become infected with the Delta variant can spread the virus to others. All vaccines are particularly effective against severe illness, hospitalization and death.
Treatments: Certain monoclonal antibody treatments are less effective against this variant

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