Earlier this year, the alpha strain was rapidly spreading in the United Kingdom and the United States. However, by the beginning of spring and summer, the delta variant of the coronavirus had taken over in the United States and many other parts of the world. The delta variant is still the most common, although additional mutations and subsets of the delta variant may be on the rise.
The delta plus variation, also known as AY.4.2, a modified version of the delta variety, has been progressively spreading in the United Kingdom in recent months. It has been documented in the United States, but at lower frequencies and mostly in the state of California. The substrain does not appear to be spreading at the same rate as the delta version. “This is nothing like that, but it’s still worth keeping an eye on,” Hanage told The Washington Post in an email. “We’d have to be idiots to assume the virus is done with us,” he adds, adding that the infection will continue to mutate..
Viruses naturally acquire and lose mutations as they replicate over generations. Different alterations to a viral virus that is circulating in a community could affect how well it spreads. However, predicting which variant will be the next major “variant of concern” will be difficult, and perhaps it isn’t the most crucial element. “It’s impossible to foresee the future because biology is too intricate.” No one should even try,” says Joel O. Wertheim, a biologist who researches viral evolution at the University of California, San Diego, to the Post.
Delta plus has been discovered in the United Kingdom, as well as other countries such as Russia, where cases are currently on the rise. According to statistics from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, this variant currently accounts for 10% of delta variant sequences in the United Kingdom, as reported by The Guardian. According to the BBC, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recently classified the delta plus as a “variant under investigation.” Officials are afraid that it may spread more quickly than the original delta version, but they do not believe it causes more serious sickness at this time.
Vaccine makers are planning to alter their vaccinations to account for new coronavirus strains, though this has not yet been determined to be essential. According to Nature, Pfizer’s CEO stated at a press conference that if a “escape variation” occurs, they will be able to develop a new version of their vaccine in 100 days.