St. Louis area health officials on edge as Delta variant increases sickness across Missouri

[Jim G.]

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/st-louis-area-health-officials-on-edge-as-delta-variant-increases-sickness-across-missouri/article_15630a3e-dac0-5829-bea4-69ee2c1b29bd.html#utm_source=stltoday.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter-templates%2Flocal%2Ftrending&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_content=0f32bf5d0fa59b8db19cc26252412a354d9d03f0

As outbreaks in southwestern and northern Missouri continue to place the state first in the nation for the number of new coronavirus cases, health officials warn that it’s only a matter of time before cases and hospitalizations rise in the St. Louis area.

The outbreaks are driven by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is projected to quickly become the dominant variant in the U.S. It is much more infectious than original strains of the virus and has been shown to cause more severe disease, placing unvaccinated individuals at higher risk of ending up in the hospital.

That may be hard to believe as cases and hospitalizations in the St. Louis area drop to levels among the lowest in the pandemic, and people return to normal activities, said Dr. Faisal Khan, director of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health.

“There is a general misconception and a false sense of security out in the community, across Missouri, across the country really, that the pandemic is somehow over, it’s behind us,” Khan said. “Fact is, we are in the middle of the belly of this serpent. The end is in sight, but it is still many miles away.”


The variant coupled with low vaccination rates have been blamed for the outbreaks in Missouri. Just 38% of the population across the state has completed vaccination.

~more at link

[SergeStorms]

1. And here we go.

And this is in the summer months. Wait until fall and winter. The MAGAts will be dropping like flies.

On a personal note, I started wearing masks again yesterday. I'm fully vaccinated, but I have two young grandchildren, 8 and 6 1/2, who aren't, and won't be until the vaccine is approved this fall.

[sheshe2]

4. I have never stopped wearing a mask when I am out.

Small mothers day gathering, all vaxed except for 2 wee ones. I went maskless for that.

Otherwise, no.

[msfiddlestix]

5. "The MAGAts will be dropping like flies."

I won't be shedding any tears.. "Let it Be, Oh Let it Be" ..........

[questionseverything]

7. Accept they will keep the new super dangerous virus live

Which is horrid for the under 12 crowd

[Blue_true]

11. Unfortunately a lot of Black and Brown people are not getting vaccinated.

It is not just Magats.

The South should provide some idea of where we are headed. The South had it’s big surge in late June through August, with July clearly showing that the upsurge started. If the South starts seeing infections increase next month, then that is not promising. The South get hit harder in the Summer because people tend to crowd together under Air Conditioning, most systems recirculate air instead of piling in hot, fresh air and cooling that.

[SergeStorms]

14. My mistake, and you're correct.

I can sympathize with their hesitation to get the vaccine, considering the "experiments" performed at their expense in the past, but millions of others from all racial groups have gotten the vaccine. There have been a lot of programs out there trying to go to their neighborhoods as well. I really hate to see POC be on the wrong end of this killer virus. We'll just have to keep trying to gain their trust, but I hope it isn't too late.

[Blue_true]

23. I am Black.

I believe that it is really crazy for a Black person not to get vaccinated now or regularly visit a Doctor. The health system can and is being held accountable today, unlike when pathogens were being released among Black people to see what happened.

I have a relative who knows a man who didn’t do Doctor visits. When he started losing a lot of weight, he finally did. He has Stage 4 cancer and likely has little time left to live.

[abqtommy]

2. Seems to be a given that The Delta Variant is gonna hit the reTHUG Fascist Insurrectionist

Cultist states pretty hard. How's that working out for ya?

[BigmanPigman]

10. Karma, baby, karma!

[Blue_true]

12. Lots of Black and Brown people have not been vaccinated.

With that, it is really hard to say what will happen.

[sheshe2]

3. We are F'ed all over agian.

Those people and the Government that thinks/says it is over. It isn't and wasn't.

We are far from done here, yet could have been had people and the government paid attention, vaccinated and used precautions.

[vercetti2021]

6. The wise will survive

The dumb will die off. Sadly this is how it's going to be

[SaintLouisBlues]

8. Maybe we will be OK in St. Louis, since people from Missourah are afraid to go near here.

[alittlelark]

9. With 38% vax in their state they may get their own Variant

In a few weeks. Lotsa ingredients in unvaxxed Missourians. Whole lotta stoooopid.

[Crunchy Frog]

13. That's what the people of Missouri want. And the ones who don't want it

can easily avoid it.

I'm certainly not going to worry about it.

[progressoid]

15. Expect it to spread with the upcoming holiday travel.

[wnylib]

17. I just read and quoted an article

from an Israeli source (Haaretz) for another thread. Beware of assuming safety among the vaccinated. Israel has the highest vaccination rate in the world, AFAIK.

The article, dated 6/22/21, reported that Israel had lifted mask requirements two weeks ago. The new cases for Monday were 125 in one day, 70% of them from Delta. Half of the infected people were children. Of those infected, 1/3 had been vaccinated. In one school, 9 vaccinated staff members were positive for the Delta strain. The army reported 2 positive soldiers who were vaccinated. There is a total of 434 active cases of covid in Israel. 258 of the patients are in serious condition.

It's important to be vaccinated, but it's also important to remember that Delta has more resistance to vaccines than the Alpha (UK) variant had, so there will be some breakthrough infections of vaccinated people.

[tanyev]

18. A few weeks ago, before Delta even got here, Dallas County was reporting over 500 breakthrough cases

with 82 of them hospitalized and 7 of those died. A very small percentage of the total vaccinated in Dallas County, but still devastating for those who got very ill or the families of those who died. I'm still hardly going anywhere and wearing a mask if I do.

[wnylib]

19. Yeah, No matter how small the numbers

of breakthrough infections are, I don't want to play covid roulette. For a while I was going to places that I had avoided, but still wore a mask. Now I am limiting myself again. Delta is just too risky.

[Jim G.]

21. Ha!

I just posted almost exactly the same before I saw this.

[wnylib]

22. The word is getting around to be

cautious about Delta. I am seeing more young people, teens and children, wearing masks. But vaccinated adults, particularly seniors, are going in crowded public places without masks, confident that they are protected. I am not so confident.

[Jim G.]

20. I Saw Your Thread...

I certainly don't wish to be a "breakthrough" victim.

I had to go to Ace Hardware this morning. It wasn't crowded at all, but I was the only one with a mask on in the whole place. I may wear masks from now on inside even though I'm fully vaccinated. If others want to play pandemic roulette it's on them.