The Difference Between Delta, Delta Plus, and Lambda (and Why You Shouldn't Panic Yet)

Delta Plus, a variant of a variant, is the latest strain of the COVID-causing coronavirus to hit the news. (A previously-known variant, Lambda, is also making headlines today.) Still, so far, there’s nothing to panic more about: Delta is scary enough.

Delta is the more-transmissible strain of the coronavirus that is fast becoming the dominant strain worldwide. It’s as contagious as chickenpox and substantially more contagious than ordinary colds or flu. Because it’s so contagious, measures that were enough to slow the spread of original-strain COVID seem not to be enough to stop...