Even as COVID-19 infection rates remain relatively low in Southern California amid the continuing vaccination drive, officials are increasingly worried about a growing threat from the Delta variant, which was first detected in India.
Public health officials have reported dozens of cases of the COVID-19 delta variant in Southern California.
The Delta variant is way more deadly
This variant is believed to be contagious than other coronavirus variants. It has been detected in at least 80 countries so far and just about every state in the United States.
Warning Americans about the Delta variant, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said: “We know that the delta variant is even more transmissible than the U.K. variant and I anticipate that will be the predominant variant in the months ahead.”
COVID-19 cases are starting to climb in rural areas of Missouri and Arkansas and at least three other states with lower-than-average vaccination rates.
Dr. David Bronstein, an infectious disease specialist with Kaiser Permanente, called it a “bigger and badder version of COVID-19” and expressed concern that it can easily spread from person to person.
Over 60 cases of the Delta variant COVID-19 outbreaks have been found among Los Angeles County individuals since late April, according to public health experts.
The Bottom Line
According to Bronstein, the figures are currently rising in Los Angeles County, with the majority of the increase is occurring in homes. “So you have one person who has the delta variant and they spread it pretty easily to someone else in the household,” he added.
Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services continue to emphasize the significance of putting more vaccines in the arms of Americans, claiming that vaccinations are effective against the variation.
Bronstein said that vaccines “we currently have available are also very effective against the delta variant, especially in preventing hospitalization from the variant.”
