Whatcom County sees first confirmed delta variant of COVID-19 virus, state reports
The delta variant of the COVID-19 virus has now been found in Whatcom County, according to the latest SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing and Variants report by the Washington State Department of Health released Wednesday.
One case of the delta variant, which was first found in India and has some experts concerned about how quickly it spreads, has been found in Whatcom County, according to the latest weekly report by the Department of Health.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists the delta variant as one of four variants of concern, while the World Health Organization has labeled it “the most able and fastest and fittest of those viruses,” according to a CNBC story.
Before Wednesday’s report was released, a July 6 Whatcom County Health Department release on the delta variant stated:
▪ The variant is accounting for approximately one in four new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and that “it’s reasonable to assume that it’s already here or will be soon.”
▪ The delta variant in believed to be 50% to 60% more transmissible than the alpha variant, which was first found in the U.K., that was already 50% more contagious than the original coronavirus.
▪ Receiving a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine offers the best chance for protection against the delta variant, as just one dose “is much less than the protection from other variants.”
▪ The protection offered by the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine against the delta variant is still being studied.
Whatcom’s one case is one of 656 confirmed delta variant cases spread across 13 Washington state counties, according to the state report.
“The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from the Delta variant is to get vaccinated. If you’ve already gotten one dose of either Pfizer or Moderna, be sure to get your second dose,” the Whatcom County Health Department release states, adding that vaccine providers can be found at vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.
“The more the coronavirus spreads, the more likely it is to mutate into a variant that can evade our vaccines. Stopping the virus now is the best way to prevent future, more dangerous mutations.”
Overall, Whatcom County saw its number of confirmed COVID-19 variant cases increase by 51 last week, according to Wednesday’s release by the state — down from the 60 new variant cases seen the week before.
Whatcom County has at least one case of eight of the 11 variants currently being tracked in Washington state.
Since its first confirmed variant case was reported Feb. 23, Whatcom has had a total of 613 variant cases through July 6, which accounts for 19.85% of Whatcom’s 3,088 cases reported since then and 6.44% of Whatcom’s pandemic total of 9,522 cases, according to analysis by The Herald.
The state’s most recent variants report for Whatcom County last week showed:
▪ 23 new alpha (U.K.) variant cases — 379 total.
▪ One new beta (South Africa) variant case — three total.
▪ 26 new gamma (Brazil) variant cases — 176 total.
▪ No new B.1.427 epsilon (California) variant cases — six total.
▪ No new B.1.429 epsilon (California) variant cases — 31 total.
▪ One new iota (New York) variant cases — 16 total.
▪ No new eta (New York) variant cases — two total.
▪ One new delta (India) variant cases — one total.
Whatcom has not yet had any cases of the zeta (Brazil), kappa (India) or B.1.617.3 (India) variants, according to the report.
This story was originally published July 8, 2021 at 8:29 AM.
