Dr. Larry Brilliant, an epidemiologist who was part of the World Health Organization's team that helped eradicate smallpox, said the delta variant is "maybe the most contagious virus" ever. The good news is that vaccines — particularly those using messenger RNA technology and the one by Johnson & Johnson — are holding up against the delta variant, Brilliant told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Friday. Larry Brilliant EpidemiologistStill, only 15% of the world population has been vaccinated and more than 100 countries have inoculated less than 5% of their people, noted Brilliant. There appears to be a similar pattern in the U.K. and India, where the spread of the delta variant has receded from recent highs. But I do caution people that this is the delta variant and we have not run out of Greek letters so there may be more to come.
