By: Anna Boyd

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been racing through the world since 2019. We have seen many cases arise in different areas while in other areas it has died down. COVID has not fully gone away since scientists discovered it. No matter how many precautions the CDC can recommend it continues to spread like wildfire.

The first variant that affected the world was the Delta variant. In late June, scientists discovered the new strain and watched as number of cases rapidly increased. Positive tests were rising as well as hospitalization rates. The 7-day average of cases were reaching over 60,000, with a daily average of 12,000 cases.

After the delta variant arose data came out that proved that the delta variant as much more infectious than the other variants. It was also discovered that even in vaccinated individuals’ transmissibility was so much higher. At a given time the delta variant was the predominant variant affecting the world.

In late November 2021 the world health organization found a new variant of COVID-19 and named it Omicron. The CDC recommends continuing the safe practices that they have pushed since the start of the pandemic. They don’t know much about this new strain but are continuing to monitor it daily.

With the new mutation doctors are reminding the world that we have already seen a mutation of COVID, and this new variant does not necessarily mean it is any more deadly or contagious. It is still unknown how Omicron and Delta will compare to the other. There are still many studies that show that vaccinated people will be more protected than those not protected. The CDC is recommending the boosters to the vaccine and all safety protocols.