Delta variant behind more than 80% of U.S. cases, but vaccines still highly effective – Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 20, 2021. Stefani Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS

The Delta variant of COVID-19 is the cause of more than 80% of the new cases in the United States, but the authorized COVID-19 vaccines in the country are still more than 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths, said top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci during a Tuesday U.S. Senate hearing.

The highly contagious Delta variant was first found in India earlier this year. It has since become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States and has been detected in more than 90 countries worldwide.

Deaths from COVID-19 in the United States have averaged 239 per day over the past week, nearly 48% higher than the previous week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said during the hearing.