The Jefferson County Health Department is warning residents about the COVID-19 Delta variant (B.1.617.2).
“The Delta variant has been detected in Missouri,” Health Department epidemiologist Sara Wilton said. “We have not yet received any reports from the state of this variant being detected in Jefferson County; however, because of the time it takes to sequence a sample, we may not be notified that a person had a particular variant until weeks after a person tests positive.”
Wilton said the Delta variant is “even more contagious” than the Alpha variant (B.117) and has a high risk of hospitalizations and severe illness.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force also is warning people about the Delta variant.
“Given the dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state of Missouri, there is significant concern for another widespread wave of infections impacting the St. Louis Metropolitan area,” the task force reported in a written statement.
“As has been widely reported, Missouri has the highest number of infections per 100,000 persons in the United States. This is due to multiple interrelated conditions including relaxed public health measures, larger and more frequent gatherings of people, low uptake of COVID vaccinations, and the introduction of the Delta variant.”
According to the report, wastewater tests have shown that the Delta variant is in the St. Louis metro area.
“Just as we saw with the Alpha (UK) variant, it is just a matter of time before the Delta variant will become the dominant strain in the St. Louis region” said Dr. Alexander Garza, chief community health officer at SSM Health and incident commander of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. “All of the scientific evidence, as well as real world experiences from what we are seeing in other parts of Missouri, give us grave concern that this variant will cause significant infections, hospitalizations and deaths among the unvaccinated in the region.
Garza said all the COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the variant.
“The overwhelming majority of persons becoming ill from the Delta variant are the unvaccinated,” he said.
County COVID-19 stats
The county has had a total of 23,933 COVID-19 cases since the first ones were reported in March 2020. Of those, 1,347 have been from long-term care facilities, the Health Department reported.
In addition, the county has had 253 COVID-19-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
For the seventh consecutive week, Jefferson County is in the yellow level on the Health Department’s COVID-19 warning system. Yellow is the second lowest level on the four-color system and indicates minimal to moderate transmission of the virus.
Several factors are evaluated when determining the color level, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and White House Pandemic Task Force guidelines. However, the main indicator is the seven-day rolling average number of cases per day per 100,000 people.
The rolling average number of cases for the week of June 13 to June 19 was 3.94. That was up slightly from the previous week, when the seven-day rolling average was 3.75 per day per 100,000 people in the county, which has a population of about 225,000.
Health officials urge residents to take steps to curb the spread of the virus by getting a COVID-19 vaccine and following CDC guidance.
The CDC recommends that people who are fully vaccinated, which means two weeks after a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or two weeks after one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, may resume activities without wearing a mask or social distancing, except for in hospitals, nursing homes and on planes or other public transportation, or when required by federal, state or local laws or by private businesses.
Vaccines
As of today (June 23) a total of 28.68 percent of Jefferson County residents have completed their vaccinations, the Health Department reported in a written statement.
People may sign up for a vaccine appointment through the Health Department by going to the state vaccine Navigator website at covidvaccine.mo.gov/navigator/. Or, they may call 877-435-8411.
Comtrea, which also offers health care services around the county, provides vaccine clinics, too. To make an appointment, go to comtrea.org/vaccine, or call 636-232-2308.
To sign up for a vaccine with Mercy, go to mercy.net/MOVaccine. Those without internet access may call 833-364-6777.
SSM Health has an online vaccine appointment site at ssmhealth.com/access/covid19-vaccine-scheduling.
Other hospital systems and pharmacies also are registering people for the vaccines. To find a local vaccine site, visit vaccinefinder.org.
