BBC Breakfast: Louise speaks to doctor about Delta variant
The UK is currently in the midst of what some scientists have dubbed a third Covid wave, which has forced the Government to delay roadmap plans by more than a month when restriction-free life should have returned on June 21. The seven-day rolling average for the country is currently more than 9,500, part of an ongoing peak in cases that started in late May. The now dominant Delta variant is the culprit, giving rise to questions on the status of other infamous Covid variants.
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What happened to the Kent Covid variant?
The Kent Covid variant, otherwise known as Alpha, prompted the deadly Covid surge earlier this year that saw tens of thousands of daily cases.
But it is no longer the dominant force of the growing variant constellation, giving way to Delta in early June according to Matt Hancock.
Christina Pagel, a Professor of Operational Research at University College London, said it now accounts for "well over" 90 percent of sequenced Covid cases.
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Professor Pagel added the Alpha variant is now "dying out".
Some people may now question what exactly happened to cause this reversal.
Delta is both more infectious and capable of bypassing the immune system.
As such, people have caught Delta much quicker than they might have the Alpha variant.
On the human battleground, this makes the Delta variant the apex predator.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed this in a recent press conference, where Irish epidemiologist Dr Mike Ryan discussed its infectivity.