What other countries' Delta variant data foreshadow for the U.S.

As the Delta coronavirus variant continues to spread across the United States, data from other countries likely provide a glimpse of what to expect in the coming weeks.

It's becoming clear that cases will climb fairly rapidly again, but there's more uncertainty about the outlook for hospitalizations and deaths. In countries with higher vaccination rates, like the United Kingdom, it appears that deaths are not accelerating as swiftly as infections, even when factoring in delays (since fatalities are always a lagging factor).

But in countries where vaccines are less accessible, it's a different story.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The United States has done pretty well on the vaccine front overall, but the drive to inoculate the population is disparate, with some cities and states registering higher vaccination rates than others. That means some places in the U.S. could look more like the U.K. — which, it's worth noting, is still experiencing a surge in cases — while others could follow the path of countries with lower vaccination numbers. So it's worth keeping an eye on a variety of situations.