The Delta Variant

There has been a lot of news and concern about the Delta Variant over the last couple of weeks. As of yet, it has not hit our area. In Northeast Texas, there have not been any recorded cases of the Delta variant. However, in the counties east of our area there have been seven recorded cases. If the variants the Texas Health and Human Services is monitoring; only the Alpha variant has been reported. Statewide there have been 120 cases of the Delta Variant that have been reported.

According to DSHS Texas, “because viruses constantly change through mutation, new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are expected to occur. Multiple variants have been documented in Texas and the United States that may spread more easily or cause more serious illness. Current scientific evidence indicates that available vaccines are effective at protecting people from severe illness caused by these variants. Public health officials at the federal, state and local levels continue to study them, monitor their spread, develop strategies to slow their spread, and test how variants may respond to existing therapies, vaccines and testing.”

Yale Medicine reported on June 28 that “a major concern right now is Delta, a highly contagious (and possibly more severe) SARS-CoV-2 virus strain, which was first identified in India in December. It then swept rapidly through that country and Great Britain as well, which has led to rising numbers of infections and deaths. The first Delta case in the United States was diagnosed a couple of months ago (in March) and now cases here are rapidly multiplying.

So far two-dose vaccines seem to have better success at fighting off the variant than those who have been only partially vaccinated or have received one of the one-dose vaccines. The UK reported that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalization after 2 doses. While the Washington Post reports that the “coronavirus vaccine developed by U.S. biotech firm Moderna is effective against the highly contagious delta variant, the company said in a release Tuesday, offering some hope even as the World Health Organization warned that the variant has spread to at least 96 countries.”

However, it should be noted that the Wall Street Journal reported that “Data from Israel suggests Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine is less effective at protecting against infections caused by the Delta variant of Covid-19 but retains its potency to prevent severe illness from the highly contagious strain. The vaccine protected 64% of inoculated people from in fection during an outbreak of the Delta variant, down from 94% before, according to Israel’s Health Ministry. It was 94% effective at preventing severe illness in the same period, compared with 97% before, the ministry said.”

Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D. also noted that “studies investigating vaccine efficacy against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants have indicated that the delta variant is partially resistant to vaccine-induced antibodies. A study conducted in the UK has indicated that the Pfizer/BioN-Tech COVID-19 vaccines are 88% effective in preventing symptomatic disease caused by the delta variant.”

That said, studies show that those who have been vaccinated are still better off than those who have not been vaccinated against the various strains so far. Here in Cass County 30.68 of the people 12 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. While 26.14 have been fully vaccinated. 54.82% of those 65 and older have been at least partially vaccinated, while 47.61 of those 65 or older have been fully vaccinated

The vaccine now is available to everyone as of May 12 and can be received at various clinics and pharmacies around the area.

According to Texas Health and Human Services Cass County has not reported any new cases over the last couple of months. The printed chart shows the covid trends.