Let’s take a look at the facts.

According to data gathered by the New York Post, the delta variant is indeed far more infectious than the alpha variant that we were originally hit with last year. In fact, it is 50 percent more transmissible, making infection numbers far more likely to spike to frightening numbers than before.

But that’s where the frightening part both begins and ends.

As the Post wrote, both the UK and Israel experienced massive spikes in reported infections, but due to the fact that the conditions were so mild, it was hardly anything worth getting excited about. Britain even went from delaying the release of its lockdown over the number spikes to reverting back to its normal lockdown lift schedule simply because the effects were so minimal.

The proof is in the numbers:

The seven-day average of new UK cases is above 25,000, the highest since late January, when the weekly average had just dropped from a peak of 50,000. But only 2,000 COVID cases are hospitalized, vs. nearly 40,000 in January. Daily deaths average under 20, vs. more than 1,000 in January.

Similarly: Israel, despite a spike in Delta cases, is seeing deaths in the single digits over the last month.

In other words, Delta looks to be less lethal than previous variants, despite media scare stories.

Hospitalizations are also offset by those who have taken the vaccine, and the Post does say that it’s areas that lack vaccinations that are experiencing the largest upticks in infections. To be sure, we’re seeing a 10 percent rise in hospitalizations across the United States, but hospital admissions are actually dropping.

But the bottom line is death rates, and according to the UK Government’s Public Health England, the Delta variant has a 0.1 percent fatality rate.

This is par for the course for viruses as history shows us that they tend to morph into strains that are far more transmissible but far less damaging to the host so that they can continue to co-exist. The virus has as much of a will to live as humans do, and it doesn’t do the virus any favors to kill us off. As many scientists predicted, the virus is becoming more benign.

So do we need to worry about it?

Sure. It’s still a virus, but we should worry about it in the same way we worry about the flu when its season comes a callin’. Should we shut down over it?

Hell no. Doing so would make for an unmitigated disaster, not just on the economy but on the mental health of those throughout the country who have already taken a huge psychological beating from the last lockdown.

It would appear that the far more damaging super-spreader event is the fear being foisted upon the people by the media. Everyone from CBS to Bloomberg wants you to believe that the Delta variant is going to climb through your window and steal your family members in the night. Dr. Fauci added a dose of his own sensationalism by telling everyone that the Delta variant was “the greatest threat in the US.”

The press even going after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for “downplaying” the spike of Delta variant in his state.

But the fact is, there is no need for panic as hard evidence shows us. So in truth, the only thing to really watch out for isn’t the virus, it’s the people telling you to panic when you shouldn’t, and you should definitely ask yourself why they want you to panic, and what they have to gain from it.