About the COVID-19 Variants

Everyone has heard about COVID-19 but now there are multiple variants out there and there are many questions about it. There are multiple variants that have been identified in the United States. There is the Alpha variant which was initially found in the United Kingdom and found in the United States in December 2020. The next one is the Beta variant which was identified initially in South Africa and was later identified in the United States in January 2021. There is also the Gamma variant was found initially in travelers who came from Brazil and was found in the United States in January 2021. Lastly, there was the Delta variant which has been discussed widely. The Delta variant was initially identified in India in December 2020 and was found in the United States in March 2021. These variants tend to spread quickly and more easily to others and can say is the cause of the rise in COVID-19 cases and fall under the category of variant of concern per the CDC.

According to the CDC, there are different classifications of variants. These are the following classifications: 1. Variant of Interest, 2. Variant of Concern, and 3. Variant of High Consequence. The CDC site has a list of the variants that fall into each category. Currently the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants are currently listed under the variant of concern category. Variant of concern category is closely monitored by federal agencies…