A New 'Delta Plus' Variant Is Spreading & The WHO Worries That It's Even More Infectious

Doctors are getting worried about a COVID variant. Again.

A new variant of a variant of COVID-19 is showing up more often in tests around the world, and there are concerns that it might be even more infectious than Delta.

This version of the coronavirus is a "sub-lineage" or sub-variant of Delta called AY.4.2, according to the World Health Organization, and it might spread more quickly that the original.

It's one of three "Delta plus" variants because apparently we can't stop giving these things random numbers for names.

"An increase in AY.4.2 sequence submissions has been observed since July," the WHO said in last week's COVID update.

That "increase" amounts to about 26,000 reports from 42 different countries — enough that the WHO's doctors are trying to figure out exactly how infectious it is.

This new Delta plus version seems to have mutated spike proteins, which are the parts of the virus that allow it to infect healthy cells.

Delta already spreads faster than vanilla COVID so an even faster version would not be great. However, experts say AY.4.2 will not make you any sicker than Delta, and that vaccines still work against it.

Just under 6 per cent of all Delta cases are AY.4.2 and more than 90 per cent of those have been spotted in the UK, according to the WHO.

Lab tests have also spotted it in several parts of the US, including California, Florida, Washington State, D.C. and Massachusetts, CBS News reports.

Doctors have said many times that vaccines are the best way to prevent new variants from taking hold.

That's because coronaviruses are more likely to mutate when they're allowed to spread freely among unprotected people.

In other words, the best way to keep the Delta plus-plus-plus variants away is to get a vaccine. Like, today.