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Article – Commodity
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Phoenix – A new type of COVID-19 first detected in India is on the rise across the United States, and experts say it’s spreading faster than other variants.
The delta variant has been declared by the World Health Organization to be a different type of concern, and researchers believe this will soon be the dominant strain in summer.
However, health experts say the delta variant may not be the cause of a crisis in Arizona because of the state’s vaccination rate.
Coronavirus in Arizona: Latest case numbers
The new strain arrived in Arizona three weeks ago, according to the researchers.
It’s more transmissible, and it can spread from person to person easily, said Will Humble, director of the Arizona Public Health Association.
Researchers believe it accounts for about 2% of infection rates here in the state, and Hempel expects that number to rise.
“I don’t expect the surrogate to become a major public health problem in Arizona, mainly because our most vulnerable people have been vaccinated,” Hempel said.
The CDC says both the Pfizer and Modern vaccines are effective against the strain, and Biden administration officials are studying the effectiveness of Johnson & Johnson’s dose to fight it.
“It’s no more deadly than the other types,” Hempel said. “If you are fully vaccinated or if you have had a previous infection with another strain, you are exposed to the delta variant – you are not as likely to get sick from COVID-19 as any of the other variants.”
The Alpha variant from the UK has been the dominant variant in the past few months in Arizona, but researchers expect that variant to be received by mid-summer. Health experts say this alternative would be a major problem for countries that do not have low vaccination rates.
Full coverage: fox10phoenix.com/coronavirus
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