Washington health officials warn that slowing COVID vaccination rates will help Delta variant spread
The number of Washington residents getting vaccinated against COVID-19 isn’t growing fast enough to contain the highly transmissible strain of the coronavirus known as the Delta variant, state health officials say.
That proclamation came in a news release issued by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), which estimates that as many as 92% of new COVID infections could be attributed to the variant. In the release, state officials said the people most at risk of getting sick are those who haven’t been vaccinated.
“I’m deeply concerned about areas of the state with lower vaccination rates now that a more infectious variant is likely to be the one that reaches those communities,” said Scott Lindquist, the state’s acting chief science officer. “If you’ve been waiting to get vaccinated for any reason, now is the time to protect yourself, your family and everyone around you.”
The department’s findings were detailed in its latest COVID situation report. In it, researchers noted that they are seeing increased infections among people ages 20 to 39 and hospital admission rates are up among all adult age groups.
https://www.seattlepi.com/coronavirus/article/wa-delta-variant-growth-with-slow-vaccination-rate-16344322.php