Task Force addresses severity of Delta variant
According to Dr. James Koopman, a member of the island COVID-19 Task Force, the increased transmissibility of the new COVID-19 mutation, known as the Delta variant, is the reason for the recent upsurge in hospital patients, as well as the rise in ventilator use.
Although diseases he worked to eradicate, such as Small Pox and Polio, both had higher fatality rates, they had lower transmission rates, he said. Studies show, he added, that those who have been vaccinated for COVID-19 are transmitting nearly as much as those who received no vaccination. The difference, he said, is that the vaccinations are reducing the numbers of hospitalizations and death.
Task Force member Sue Dahod said unless there are counter-measures, the numbers of those infected with COVID-19 will likely continue to grow exponentially.
Fellow Task Force member Martha Huard pointed out the importance of wearing face masks, since even those who have been vaccinated are transmitting the virus.
Dr. Daniel Hanley, another Task Force member, reiterated that tried and true measures of hand washing, mask wearing and maintaining social distance remain key to any community gaining a reasonable degree of control over the virus.
“Even though the vaccinated tend to spread the Delta variant, the total numbers of that kind of spread is still minuscule compared to the unvaccinated,” Hanley said, stressing the importance of getting the vaccine to the unvaccinated and trying to diminish the stigma associated with misinformation behind the reasons people have remained unvaccinated.
Helen Fox, another Task Force member, said her takeaway from recent developments regarding COVID-19 is that even vaccinated people should be masking when in public spaces.
“We got the opposite message about a month ago,” said Fox. “We were told, if you’re vaccinated, now go have fun, you don’t have to wear a mask … now the progress of the Delta variant has shown us that vaccinated people can get these breakthrough infections and therefore infect others almost as efficiently as the unvaccinated.”
Task Force member Martha Huard suggested asking local business owners to post signs in their windows encouraging people to wear masks whether or not they have been vaccinated, to protect employees and customers. She also suggested the Task Force take the initiative to make up the signs to offer business owners.
It was decided that a bi-lingual flyer on vaccine facts made up by the Task Force will be distributed in various places on the island.
Overall, the Task Force members noted their concern that testing is not as readily available as it once was, for those who are not symptomatic, but were exposed to the virus or would like to travel.
Koopman said with both the severity and transmissibility of the Delta variant, which is now dominant in the local community, islanders must remain vigilant.
“The firestorm of the pandemic is swirling around us with the new force of the Delta strain,” said Koopman. “That variant is more contagious and deadly than previous strains. The vaccinated can spread it almost as well as the unvaccinated, even though the vaccinated are protected from dying of the infection. The pandemic is being whipped up to unprecedented levels by our new freedom of movement without masks. We must adjust quickly to this new threat. We can save tens to hundreds of thousands of American lives by vaccinating more people and wearing masks in public indoor settings even if we are vaccinated.”