Delta variant now makes up 83% of cases, CDC director says

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky told lawmakers Tuesday the delta variant now makes up 83% of cases.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky told lawmakers Tuesday the delta variant now makes up 83% of cases, up from 50% at the beginning of this month. "CDC has released estimates of variants across the country and predicted the delta variant now represents 83% of sequenced cases. This is a dramatic increase from -- up from 50% for the week of July 3rd," Walensky testified in a hearing before the Senate Health Committee. Walensky said the alarming increase was happening in unvaccinated areas and that they were "allowing for the emergence and rapid spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant." "In some parts of the country, the percentage is even higher, particularly in areas of low vaccination rates," she said.