The more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus is like last year's "COVID-19 on steroids," an expert said.
"We should think about the Delta variant as the 2020 version of COVID-19 on steroids," Andy Slavitt, a former senior adviser to President Joe Biden's coronavirus response team, told CNN in an interview Wednesday.
The Delta variant, which was first identified in India and is rapidly spreading in the US, is "twice as infectious" as the original strain of the coronavirus, Slavitt said.
"Fortunately, unlike 2020, we actually have a tool that stops the Delta variant in its tracks: It's called vaccine," said Slavitt.
The Delta variant now makes up more than half of the COVID-19 cases in the US, according to new statistics published this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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