NEW ORLEANS — The COVID-19 Delta variant is spreading quickly reaching 74 countries including the United States and in several southern states including here in Louisiana. The Delta variant is said to be more easily transmitted than previous COVID-19 variants.
The COVID-19 Delta variant is on an upward trajectory and that’s concerning doctors.
“By the end of May, only 2.7 percent of the infection was the Delta variant, now by early June, just two weeks ago, at 9 percent of the virus is the Delta variant,” Dr. Bechara Choucair, White House Vaccinations Coordinator said.
The Delta variant is the 4th named variant originally from India, but now in the United States.
“The concern is the fact that it is highly transmissable, we know the Delta variant appears to be more transmissable than other variants, also could lead to more severe disease including hospitalization,” Dr. Choucair said.
The only way to stop it is through vaccines.
“We do know that the two dose vaccines appear to be effective against the Delta variant,” Dr. Choucair said.
Locally–Louisiana is one of the states in the bottom for vaccinations, with only about 35 percent of folks being fully vaccinated. This is why the new variant is more of a concern for us here.
“If we give the variants time to adapt, mutate, then they can get out of control with the vaccines we do have,” Dr. Nirav Patel, Chief Medical Officer at University Medical Center said.
As for those who are vaccinated, what are doctors saying about the need for a booster shot this Fall?
“We don’t know yet if we’ll need booster shots or not, what we know is the vaccines we have are very effective,” Dr. Choucair said.