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Variants of COVID-19

Did you know that viruses are constantly changing? Like any organism, viruses reproduce. In this process, their genetics naturally change and diversify. Over time, these changes can produce new variants of the virus that display different characteristics and behaviors.

This is the case with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. Scientific and public health institutions, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, are dedicated to monitoring these changes and analyzing how they may impact our health. Throughout the pandemic, different genetic variants of this virus have been detected in the world, some more worrying than others.

Currently, the CDC is monitoring four notable variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 in the United States: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. These variants are more worrisome than others because they can be transmitted faster, produce more severe symptoms, are more resistant to treatments or vaccines, and / or are more difficult to identify.

Right now, the Delta variant is the variant of most concern to the country because it is more contagious than other variants and possibly causes more severe COVID-19 symptoms. Additionally,  it accounts for a quarter of all new COVID-19 cases in the United States, and it has been detected in all 50 states and in several countries around the world.

What can we do to protect ourselves?

Fortunately, vaccination provides good protection against the Delta variant and the other variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. In addition, vaccination is key to preventing the spread of the virus and the emergence of new variants: the more people are vaccinated, the less possibility the virus has to reproduce, multiply and change genetically. Ending this pandemic is everyone's job.

To get your vaccine in the United States, visit Vaccines.org.

If you have already been vaccinated, you can help share this message with your family and your community so that they protect themselves and prevent the spread of the virus.

Have you already been vaccinated?

For more information on COVID-19, variants, and vaccines, visit the CDC website. Also, you can contact the Center for Migrant Rights, Inc. (CDM). You can call us from Mexico at 800-590-1773, or from the United States at: 1 855-234-9699. To speak with someone in Mixtec, you can call us at: 953-554-0517. Our services are completely free and confidential.