Ever since its declaration as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, COVID-19 has been, and continues to be, an ever-present threat to public health and safety. While the pandemic itself is ongoing, a variant of the coronavirus has spread across the world despite human efforts to contain and eradicate it.

Dubbed the “Delta variant,” experts believe this strain to be more debilitating and twice as infectious as the novel coronavirus. Since its discovery in December 2020, the Delta variant has spread across 140 countries. The variant is responsible for over 99% of new infections reported in New York City. 

Fordham administration has advised students to remain vigilant, regardless of their vaccine status. According to Maureen Keown, director of University Health Services (UHS), the university utilizes VitalCheck in combination with an indoor mask mandate to contain the virus. Keown also stated that UHS administers tests “to those students or employees who are exposed.” Rapid and PCR testing is also available to students showing COVID-like symptoms.

The WHO currently designates the Delta variant as the only “Variant of Concern” (VOC). Multiple different strains of COVID-19 have also been identified. Like the Delta variant, these strains are given Greek letters for identification. As of Sept. 21, the CDC classifies nine additional strains: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon, Eta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda and Mu. These are considered “Variants Being Monitored” (VBM) and collectively make up a small portion of total coronavirus infections. The WHO views these strains as less dangerous. The Delta strain itself was initially a Variant of Interest (VOI) upon its classification on April 4, 2021, before being given its current VOC designation on May 11. 

Berish Rubin, who holds a Ph.D. in biology and is a professor of biology at Fordham, said that variants differ from their parent strains because of mutations to their genes, which in the case of Delta has made the virus more infectious.

The Delta strain is far more serious due to several distinct factors that set it apart from both other variants and its parent virus. According to Rubin, those infected with the Delta variant may have “approximately 1,000 times more virus in their respiratory tracts than those infected with earlier strains.” 

“While vaccination provides very effective protection from infection with the earlier strains of SARS-CoV-2, a significant number of vaccinated individuals have become infected with the delta variant.” Berish Rubin, biology professor

People infected with Delta are also far more infectious, as symptoms tend to take six days to manifest compared to four with the original strain; thus the contagious individual usually isn’t aware they’re infectious until almost a week after infection.

The Delta variant also appears to take more of a toll on the human body than its parent strain. 96.1% of individuals now hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated, proving their ability to significantly lessen one’s odds of infection. 

“While vaccination provides very effective protection from infection with the earlier strains of SARS-CoV-2, a significant number of vaccinated individuals have become infected with the delta variant,” Rubin said. Though the vaccine provides effective protection against hospitalization and death, it is no guarantee against contracting the virus.

Though the Delta variant is a more infectious and potentially debilitating virus than the original strain of COVID-19, knowledge of the virus and methods to combat it has improved.

The vaccine still makes an individual less likely to contract even the Delta variant, but the dominant VOC is largely responsible for increased rates of “breakthrough cases” among vaccinated individuals. Those who were infected with previous strains of the coronavirus are also at risk, with re-infections becoming more common. Rubin surmised that “these observations clearly reveal that in some individuals the delta variant is able to replicate even in the presence of an immune response that blocks the replication of previous strains of SARS-CoV-2.”

Much has changed in the fight against COVID-19. An estimated 42.6% of the global population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. About 98.76% of undergraduates at Fordham are vaccinated. However, considering the limits to the vaccine’s effectiveness against the Delta variant, Rubin warned that “containment procedures would likely need to be more aggressive than was needed for previous strains of this virus,” even in largely vaccinated communities.

Though the Delta variant is a more infectious and potentially debilitating virus than the original strain of COVID-19, knowledge of the virus and methods to combat it has improved. The outbreak, while more serious for those who may become infected, is still manageable.