There are two basic questions to ask about any variant of the Covid-19 virus: Is it more contagious than earlier versions of the virus? When a variant is more contagious, it leads to a rise in the number of infections, especially among the unvaccinated. It is easy to confuse these two different concepts when a variant — like Delta — begins spreading. In response, journalists and some experts talk about the new variant being “worse,” “riskier” or “more dangerous” — broad concepts that muddy the difference between contagiousness and severity. “Part of the problem is imprecision in language,” Dr. Rebecca Wurtz, an infectious-disease expert at the University of Minnesota, said.

Source: New York Times July 15, 2021 10:18 UTC