[erhk]

Alpha was more lethal than delta from the sequencing reports posted by my State in the U.S.

.4% lethal compared to .3% lethal when I last checked.

So thats one goalpost. Another litmus test is that if delta was more lethal it would have been a very popular media talking point. Fear is unfortunately a successful motivator for clicks.

[ummonk]

Are you looking at a small enough time span? Because vaccination drives IFR down, and vaccination rates were higher during the main Delta outbreak than during the main Alpha outbreak.

Alpha variant was already deadlier than the original strain, and delta variant at least caused higher hospitalization rates than alpha:

https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n579.long

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03426-1

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3...

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3...