*Its presence jumped from 5.8 percent on May 21 to 42.9 percent on June 21.
By Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P]
The Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has become the dominant strain in California. Last week, 634 cases were detected in the state, while the total as of Thursday was 1,85, a 71 percent increase in just a few days.
However, the numbers could be much higher since only a fraction of COVID-19 tests are genomically sequenced, a process that determines whether positive cases belong to any variant.
"I can assure you that they are going to be higher," the governor said Thursday. Gavin Newsom when questioned about the updated figures for the Delta variant.
Genomic sequence testing determined that of the variants identified as Delta shot up from 5.8 percent on May 21 to 42.9 percent on June 21.
The next closest variant on the list is Alpha, formerly the "UK variant," which is associated with approximately 50 percent more transmission and probably a higher severity of disease and risk of death.
This variant, although it decreased, remains high, going from 57.6 percent on May 21 to 30.6 percent on June 21.
It should be noted that the state publishes variant percentages once a month, so in the weeks after June 21 it is likely that the Delta strain will have increased.
As of July 9, California had 3,724,833 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 63,376 deaths.
This Thursday, 2,411 positive cases were registered in the state, which represented an increase of 3.3 new cases per 100,000; while 59 deaths were counted.
The number of tests on the same day was 121,341, with a positivity rate of 2.3 percent, a marginal increase of 0.2 percent compared to Wednesday.
In terms of vaccination, the state has administered 42 million 280,518 doses. 20 million 417,009 people over the age of 12 have been fully vaccinated (60.2 percent), while 3 million 186,612 (9.4 percent) are partially immunized.
The average daily number of vaccine doses administered is 59,737.
Race against time... and variants
While efforts have been made to get all those eligible to be vaccinated - 12 years of age and older - the numbers remain very low in several counties across the state, a situation that is not conducive to achieving herd immunity in the short term.
San Mateo County is not doing poorly in its immunization numbers, however the most vulnerable still need to be reached.
Thus, the county has administered 1,59,333,000 doses, resulting in 581,531,53 residents being immunized as of July 8, of which 515,394 are fully vaccinated, or 88.7 percent of the population eligible for inoculation.
It should be noted that if progress is not made soon in other counties where vaccination is still very low, there is a danger that the Delta variant could be the tipping point for a return to serious risk status and a need to return to closures and face protection at all times.
The great risk
A new data analysis identifies groups of unvaccinated people, mostly in the South, vulnerable to surges in COVID-19 cases that could become breeding grounds for even deadlier variants, CNN said.
Thus, the analysis by Georgetown University researchers identified 30 clusters of counties with low vaccination rates and significant population sizes.
The five largest clusters are found primarily in eight states: eastern Georgia to western Texas, and northern to southern Missouri. They are also in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, and consist mainly of smaller counties, but also cities such as Montgomery, Alabama; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Amarillo, Texas.
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