NEWS
The Delta variant of the coronavirus carries a viral load 1000x higher than the original (Alpha) virus. P H OTO : P O L I N A TA N K O L E V I T C H
CDC: Mask Up and Get Vaccinated or Risk Deadlier COVID-19 Variants Vast swaths of Ohio and Kentucky remain undervaccinated, even as the highly transmissible Delta variant pushes the states into high risk BY A L L I S O N BA B K A
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hen COVID-19 vaccines became widely available earlier this year, Cincinnatians largely rushed to get theirs. But with a vaccination plateau and the coronavirus becoming even more transmissible in recent weeks, Southwest Ohio isn’t quite out of the woods. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hamilton County now has a “substantial” risk for coronavirus
as of Aug. 2 — a change from earlier this summer when the CDC said the county’s risk was low or moderate. Hamilton’s surrounding counties in Ohio — Butler, Clermont and Warren — also are listed as substantial. In addition, Hamilton County has a rate of 66.42 coronavirus cases per 100,000 individuals, the CDC says, which is much higher than its rate in late spring when most public health measures were dropped.
A little further to the east and to the north, Adams, Clinton, Greene, Highland and Montgomery counties are faring a bit worse. They’re listed as “high risk,” the CDC’s highest level. The Kentucky counties near Cincinnati aren’t doing well, either. Boone County is listed as high risk, while the risk in Kenton and Campbell counties is labeled as substantial. As CityBeat has previously reported, the majority of counties throughout the rest of Kentucky are high risk. The CDC uses local, state and national data to designate coronavirus hot spots. Earlier during the pandemic, the Ohio Department of Health also had a county-by-county map of risk levels throughout the state but discontinued its map earlier this year.
CDC: This Could Mutate Again In recent weeks, the CDC has warned that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over and that people should take immediate measures to protect themselves and their loved ones. The best way to do that? Vaccination, experts say.
During a briefing on July 27, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said that the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus has been dominating COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations throughout the summer. The Delta variant carries a viral load 1,000-times higher than the original virus — called Alpha — does, making it much easier and faster to transmit among people, including those who have been vaccinated or who show no symptoms, Walensky said. The virus especially is easy to transmit among others when speaking, singing, sneezing or breathing hard, particularly within indoor areas. Health experts say that Delta is more than twice as easy to transmit than the original virus. Unvaccinated individuals are at the highest risk for severe infection and substantial health issues, experts say. Additionally, new data shows that vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals who are infected carry the same high levels of the virus, so people who have received a Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine also
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