Not ‘if’ but ‘when’ unvaccinated persons will get Covid, Wolf says
The 7-day positivity rate for Covid-19 testing is 26.1 percent as of Aug. 4, reports Greene County public health director Becky Wolf. She reports there have been 27 new cases diagnosed since July 20. Fourteen cases include children ages 2-3 or 12-18 years of age.
Because of the Delta variant, there have been persons in Greene County who are fully vaccinated who have been diagnosed with Covid.
The level of community transmission (ability to spread) increased from “moderate” to “high” over the past weekend.
She reports the following data for fully vaccinated Greene County residents:
- Total population: 47.6
- 12 years and older: 56%
- 18 years and older: 59.4%
- 65 years and older: 88.3%
Wolf also provides information about the Delta variant.
- This Delta variant is highly infectious and can cause severe complications requiring hospitalization
- Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines ARE effective against the Delta variant
- With each new variant mutation, the virus spreads faster and becomes increasingly more contagious with each “morphing” cycle
- “Breakthrough” COVID illness may occur in the fully vaccinated as the virus continues to mutate again and again. We are seeing this in Greene County
- What will stop future virus mutations from recurring? Vaccination
“This Delta variant is serious news: If one is unvaccinated, it’s no longer ‘if’ he/she will get COVID, but rather ‘when’,” Wolf said.
She asks that with the high rate of community spread that all persons wear a mask when indoors with others, regardless of vaccination status. “At this time, we expect the number of Covid cases to quickly increase in schools and daycares, impacting sports, absenteeism, and other activities,” she said.
Persons are urged to continue physical distancing of 6 feet from others not in your household, wash their hands frequently, and “get vaccinated to protect the lives of your family, friends and community.”
Greene County public health has launched its own Facebook page to help inform the public of current positivity rates and other information. Search Facebook for Greene County Public Health Iowa.
