The number of confirmed cases of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus in Los Angeles County is on the rise, prompting renewed calls for residents to take advantage of existing vaccines.
Although COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates, and mortality rates are still low across the county, this particular variant—which may be twice as transmissible as the traditional strain—has a special risk of prolonging the pandemic, which will It mainly affects those who have not yet been vaccinated.
"This is an unvaccinated epidemic," Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrell said at a briefing on Thursday.
Of the 123 people diagnosed with Delta variants in Los Angeles County, 110 were not vaccinated and 3 were partially vaccinated. There were two hospitalizations in this group.
In contrast, variant cases were found in 10 fully vaccinated individuals, but none of them ultimately needed this level of care.
Ferrer said: "If you are fully vaccinated, there will be a lot of protection." "And for the very few people who may eventually get a breakthrough vaccination case, they really do not have a serious disease."