The variant COVID-19 strain known as Delta-plus, a highly transmissible version of the virus believed to be more resistant to antibodies than earlier strains, has been detected in Louisiana, according to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune and New Orleans Advocate.
While vaccinated people are still protected from the new Delta-plus variant, the same isn’t believed to be the case for unvaccinated people relying on “natural immunity” after having previously been infected with COVID, according an LSU virologist quoted by the newspaper.
Unvaccinated people who have never had COVID are considered most at risk given how much more contagious Delta-plus is.
“This is just one more reason for those who have yet to get vaccinated to do so, and to do so as soon as possible,” said St. Tammany Health System infectious disease specialist Dr. Mike Hill. “We’ve learned a lot since the start of the pandemic, and among the things we’ve learned is that the vaccines work, they are safe and that they are the only real protection against the virus.”
The Louisiana case of the Delta-plus variant of COVID-19 was found in a New Orleans resident from a sample taken in early June but only recently sampled, according to the newspaper report.
No confirmed cases have been detected on the Northshore, but given how transmissible the variant is, it is possible – if not likely – that it is already circulating in the community.
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St. Tammany Health System continues to administer COVID-19 vaccines by appointment from 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays daily at its Express Care clinic in Covington. Appointments should be made via the free MyChart app or by calling (985) 898-4001. Visit STPH.org/COVID-19 for the latest information on coronavirus in St. Tammany Parish.