State report: COVID delta variant cases in Whatcom County nearly double
The number of confirmed COVID-19 delta variant cases that have been detected in Whatcom County nearly doubled from last week’s Washington State Department of Health report.
Whatcom County has now had 250 confirmed delta variant cases, according to the latest SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing and Variants in Washington State report released Wednesday, Aug. 25, growing by 113 cases over last week’s report.
The 113 cases account for 16.2% of the 1,543 cases reported in the county since the first delta variant case was reported in the July 6 report.
But the reality is the variant is likely responsible for far more cases during Whatcom’s recent surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
“Delta variant is the dominant strain statewide,” Washington State Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah said during an online briefing Wednesday. “Really, it is representing almost all of our cases throughout the state of Washington.”
Only between 220 and 392 positive molecular tests within Whatcom County have been sequenced in the past 60 days, according to Wednesday’s report. That represents between 13% and 24% of the 1,663 cases reported in Whatcom County over the past 60 days, which is in line with the statewide average of 19.6% of all confirmed molecular tests that were sequenced during the month of July.
Statewide, the report said that the delta variant is responsible for 1,394 breakthrough cases of people who had been fully vaccinated, with represents approximately 58% of all vaccine breakthrough cases where a variant was detected. Individual county numbers were not included.
“The bottom line is we all are at higher risk to the delta variant,” Whatcom County Health Director Erika Lautenbach said in an online briefing Friday, Aug. 20. “We each have a baseline risk, based on age, vaccination status, health status and more, but the delta variant ups the ante for risk for everyone now. It’s important that we use everything at our disposal to protect ourselves.”
And the best ways to protect ourselves from delta, Lautenbach said, is vaccination and wearing a mask in public indoor areas.
“In just a couple months, delta variant has ravaged our state,” Shah said Wednesday. “It has preyed particularly on those who are unvaccinated. Those unvaccinated persons have unfortunately driven our cases and our hospitalizations. We know delta is markedly more transmissible. That has led to what we are seeing across our communities, across Washington.”
Other variants in Whatcom
With the 113 new delta cases in Whatcom, delta is now the second most common variant within the county throughout the pandemic, behind just the alpha or U.K variant.
And it is about the only one that is currently being found within the county, according to the report.
Only one other new confirmed case of a variant other than delta was included in this week’s report.
Whatcom County has at least one case of nine of the 10 variants currently being tracked in Washington state.
Since its first confirmed variant case was reported Feb. 23, Whatcom has had a total of 1,032 variant cases reported through Aug. 24, which accounts for approximately 22% of Whatcom’s 4,631 cases reported since then and 9.3% of Whatcom’s pandemic total of 11,065 cases, according to analysis by The Herald.
The state’s most recent variants report for Whatcom County showed:
▪ No new alpha (U.K.) variant cases — 469 total.
▪ No new B.1.351 (South Africa) variant case — four total.
▪ No new gamma (Brazil) variant cases — 249 total.
▪ No new B.1.427 (California) variant cases — six total.
▪ No new B.1.429 (California) variant cases — 31 total.
▪ One new B.1.526 (New York) variant cases — 20 total.
▪ No new B.1.525 (New York) variant cases — two total.
▪ No new kappa (India) variant cases — one total.
Whatcom also has seen no cases of the B.1.617.3 (India) variant, according to the report.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
