COVID-19: Delta variant 'fittest', will pick off most vulnerable people: WHO

The Delta variant of coronavirus, which now accounts for more than 20 per cent of coronavirus infections in the US, is the 'fittest' variant till date and has the ability to find and kill the weakest people, World Health Organization officials said Monday.

Speaking at a news conference, Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's health-emergencies program, said that the Delta variant had the potential "to be more lethal because it's more efficient in the way it transmits between humans."

He added that the variant will eventually find those vulnerable individuals who will become severely ill, have to be hospitalized, and potentially die.

"This particular Delta variant is faster, it is fitter, it will pick off the more vulnerable more efficiently than previous variants, and therefore if there are people left without vaccination, they remain even at further risk," Ryan added, as per CNBC.

The global health agency has been asking wealthier nations to donate more vaccines to poorer countries to help slow the spread of the Delta variant.

The Covid-19 Delta variant, first identified in India, now accounts for more than 20 per cent of coronavirus infections in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.

With the delta variant spreading rapidly among younger populations, Biden`s White House is urging 18 to 26-year-olds to get vaccinated. Dr Anthony Fauci, US' top infectious disease expert lists under-vaccinated regions as the country`s main "obstacles" to crushing the virus.

On Friday, WHO's chief scientist said that the Delta variant is becoming the globally dominant version of the disease.

The Delta variant contributed to a severe outbreak of COVID-19 in India during April and May that overwhelmed health services in the country and killed thousands.