The types of places that carry the biggest risk for COVID-19 transmission have changed over time - partly because experts have learned more about how the virus works and partly because the virus itself has changed. The delta variant is more than two times as contagious as previous strains, which has obvious implications for transmission.
Also, nearly 60% of the population in the United States is now fully vaccinated, which impacts the virus’s spread. Fully vaccinated people are not only less likely to become hospitalized or die, they’re also far less likely to spread the virus (despite some confusing public health messaging around this second point). So here’s what we know about the places where transmission is the highest right now, and places where the spread isn’t as bad as people might think.