Public health officials have been talking about the Delta variant of the coronavirus more and more in North Carolina. Doctors and researchers say it is more contagious and potentially leads to more serious cases of COVID-19 and more deaths.
Wolfpack fans are hearing more and more about it too, because it appears it was the Delta variant, and not Vanderbilt, that took out the N.C. State baseball team from the College World Series. The Wolfpack was one win away from the finals.
“We understand the gravity of eight players testing positive and the fact that this was the Delta variant,” N.C. State University Chancellor Randy Woodson said after the NCAA kicked the team out of the series. “It’s super contagious and is quickly emerging in the country as another wave of infection.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has labeled the Delta variant a “variant of concern.” It was first identified in India in December and found in the United States for the first time in March, according to the CDC.
“What we’re finding with this Delta variant is that it’s even more transmissible than the UK variant. So not only is it more transmissible, there is some concern that it actually may lead to more severe illness,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told NBC News recently.
But, she said, the good news is that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines appear to be effective against the new variant, as long as people have had both shots.
In the southeast, the latest data from the CDC shows the Delta variant accounts for about 4% of cases. But officials say it could become the main strain of the virus by this fall.
“The Delta variant has a higher risk of hospitalization,” said Dr. Christopher Ohl with Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem. “It’s also more contagious.”
"If you’re unvaccinated, there’s a real good chance you’re going to get this variant," he said.
Nationwide, Ohl said the Delta variant accounts for about 10% of cases. But that number could be 50% in the next couple months, he said.
That projected growth has officials worried, especially as vaccinations lag in North Carolina.
“If you are unvaccinated, you should be concerned, particularly with this new Delta variant. It is shown to be more contagious and even more dangerous than the original COVID-19 virus,” Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday.
“Getting your vaccination, however, protects you from this variant and from COVID-19,” the governor said.
Only 13 players on the Wolfpack baseball team were fully vaccinated, according to the university. If the N.C. State team had been fully vaccinated, they would have been able to keep playing in the College World Series.
Ohl, with Wake Forest Baptist Health, said research from the United Kingdom shows the Delta variant is hitting young people, 12 to 20 years old, especially hard.
“It might have something to do with more social activities and such, but a more transmissible virus is going to take advantage of a more socially active population of people,” he said.
Dr. Tom Belhorn, a pediatrician at UNC Health who specializes in infectious diseases, said the Delta variant is one of thousands of variants out in the world.
“The Delta variant has become the top of the news,” he said. “There’s much more virus in the nose during replication and so it’s easier to transmit.”
He said the variant will spread more in areas with lower vaccination rates.
“If we could snap our fingers and have everyone immunized in the whole world, well, we wouldn’t have a problem with the variants coming through,” he said.
Vaccination rates in North Carolina continue to be a concern. The state Department of Health and Human Services is trying to get more people out to get their shots, including offering $25 cash cards and weekly drawings for $1-million cash prizes for people who get vaccinated.
“More than 99% of new COVID-19 cases in North Carolina are in people who are not fully vaccinated,” DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said this week.