CDC Says Delta Variant Comprising the Majority of U.S. Coronavirus Cases

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified the more contagious delta variant as the most dominant strain in the United States, comprising the majority of cases in the country for the two weeks ending Saturday, July 3.

The prevalence of the delta variant, B.1.617.2,  jumped significantly from June to the beginning of July, going from comprising 30.4 percent of the cases in mid-June and jumping to 51.7 percent for the two weeks ending in early July.

“Variant proportions are dynamic and difficult to predict due to reporting delays, the presence of multiple variants, and changing incidence,” the CDC told ABC News.

Currently, the CDC has identified B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), B.1.617.2 (Delta), and P.1 (Gamma) as “variants of concern” circulating in the country.

Meanwhile, the White House is continuing to urge Americans to get vaccinated to quell the spread of the virus variants.

A reporter asked White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday:

What’s the level of frustration in the White House that you have a vaccine, the vaccine works, it is available to a degree it has never been available before, people are not getting the vaccine, and therefore, the Delta variant is emerging in certain places around the country?”

Psaki promised that the White House will “continue to press as hard as we can to use the best practices to continue to increase the vaccination rates around the country.”

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden expressed the desire to “go community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, and often times door by door – literally knocking on doors to get help to the remaining people” get vaccinated.

Watch:

The White House / Facebook

Psaki used similar language during Tuesday’s press briefing, highlighting Biden’s desire for “targeted, community-by-community, door-to-door outreach to get remaining Americans vaccinated by ensuring they have the information they need on how both safe and accessible the vaccine is.”

Jen Psaki: We will be going door-to-door to Americans who have not been vaccinated pic.twitter.com/S70VjPojfj

— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) July 6, 2021

Notably, Psaki did not highlight the rising concerns over rare heart inflammation conditions developing primarily in younger men who receive the mRNA vaccinations.

The CDC is currently investigating the death of a 13-year-old boy who passed away in his sleep two days after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. And this week, the father of another teen appeared on Fox & Friends, detailing how his 17-year-old son developed a heart condition after receiving a Pfizer shot.