The Indian 'Delta' variant is now the dominant strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed.
According to data updated on Tuesday evening, the variant, also known as B.1.617.2, makes up 51.7 percent of all new infections.
That's up from the 26.1 percent of cases previously linked to the the variant, meaning its prevalence has nearly doubled in two weeks.
The Delta variant has been detected in all 50 states and accounts for more than 80 percent of new infections in Midwestern states such as Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
The 'Indian' Delta variant is now the dominant strain of coronavirus, accounting for more than half of all new cases in the U.S., according to the CDC
More than 80% of new infections in Midwestern states such as Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, are linked to the Delta variant
The majority of states seeing a rise in cases associated with the spread of the the Delta variant are states with low vaccination rates in the South, Midwest and Mountain West
In mid-May, the Delta variant accounted for just three percent of all new COVID-19 infections in the country.
However, the strain has since taken hold in parts of the U.S. with low vaccination rates.
The Delta variant has been labeled as a 'double mutant' by India's Health Ministry because it carries two mutations: L452R and E484Q.
L452R is the same mutation seen with the California homegrown variant and E484Q is similar to the mutation seen in the Brazilian and South African variants.
Both of the mutations occur on key parts of the virus that allows it to enter and infect human cells.
Its prevalence has nearly doubled in two weeks, going from 26.1% of new infections at the end of
