Delta’s Rapid Spread Clouds Summer With Fear of Covid Revival

The fast-spreading delta variant is clouding Americans’ hopes for a carefree summer -- and casting a shadow of doubt over plans to get back to business as usual in the fall.

The shift in sentiment marks a reversal from the spring, when it looked like the U.S. immunization campaign would turn the tide definitively against the coronavirus. But lingering vaccine hesitancy in some areas has converged with the arrival of the more contagious delta strain and darkened the mood across much of the country.

“The delta variant recreates this anxiety that many of us had prior to being vaccinated,” said ...