Unfortunately, Delta Plus Is Trending Because of COVID, Not Delta Airlines

So.

There’s a variant of the COVID variant.

Me after hearing about the delta plus variant pic.twitter.com/6TWDWY7Mhk

— HEXED (@HEXED25) August 4, 2021

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), South Korea has detected two cases of the Delta Plus COVID variant while dealing with its fourth wave of COVID infections.

My two Pfizer shots when they hear about Delta Plus pic.twitter.com/reTnCH20sz

— Twunk in Training🏳️‍⚧️ (@AceHainley) August 4, 2021

I am truly sorry that Delta Plus isn’t trending over some fantastical flight deal that whisks you away to a far-off paradise in exchange for the quarters buried in your couch cushion. I really do wish it was yet another vaccine incentive, but nope, we’re getting more COVID, y’all.

me finding out why delta plus is trending after i thought it was about the airline pic.twitter.com/dMIVA9uAb5

— cat ¨̮ (@ccaterra) August 4, 2021

Here’s the part where I tell you that this is NOT the first time we’re hearing about Delta Plus. Apparently, before Korea, there had been about 200 cases in 11 countries – including the US. News of this new variant broke back in June. “Delta Plus has an extra mutation called K417N, which distinguishes it from the regular Delta variant. This mutation affects the spike protein, the part of the virus that attaches to the cells it infects,” writes Jessie Yeung for CNN.

Yeung continues with, “According to the Indian government’s Covid-19 genome sequencing body, the Delta Plus variant exhibits several worrying traits such as increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells, and a potential reduction in antibody response. It’s not yet clear what effect the mutation may have on vaccine efficacy – but Julian Tang, professor of respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester, warned it could potentially give the variant “significant vaccine escape properties.”

Delta Plus? miss rona stop making remixes we are beyond TIRED pic.twitter.com/GKpx2CtGPC

— rich 🍂🧣 (@richardmz13) August 4, 2021

NBC News reports something similar, saying that it’s not unusual for a virus to mutate and evolve as it spreads. “Scientists have long cautioned that other worrisome variants could emerge with new outbreaks,” Denise Chow writes.

I feel like this is the very definition of fighting an uphill battle. We were so woefully unprepared for COVID and, arguably, never fully took the preventative measures we should’ve. We opened up too early, unmasked too soon, and are forcing people to try and figure out how to make ends meet in the middle of a pandemic.

We keep rushing in trying to go back to the before times which just seems to be adding to the spread of COVID, and as we try and fight that spread we now have to worry about new spreads and whether or not vaccines for the original spread will be good enough to help prevent that new and dangerously improved spread while trying to convince folks to get vaccinated for the tale that feels like its as old as time spread who will probably counter that there’s no telling if it’ll matter because there’s a harder better faster stronger spread meanwhile scientists are still trying to figure out ALL OF THE SPREADS but there’s no time because IT KEEPS SPREADING because-