The coronavirus mutant that is now dominant in the United States spreads faster than its omicron predecessors, is adept at escaping immunity and might possibly cause more serious disease. The new variant is a member of the omicron family, but it carries a mutation called delta that was a feature of the variant that was dominant in the middle of 2021. This appears to allow the virus to escape immunity from vaccines and prior infection, especially if someone was infected in the huge omicron wave that swept the world late last year and early this year.
Dominant coronavirus mutant contains ghost of pandemic past
