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Delta strain now dominates, but close to 70% of Sudburians over 12 fully vaccinated, health unit reports

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As local cases dry up, Public Health Sudbury & Districts said Thursday that 69.2 per cent of people older than 12 have now been vaccinated against COVID-19 with both shots.

More than 80 per cent have received at least one dose, the health unit said, bringing the area closer to the health unit's goal of getting 90 per cent of people in its coverage area fully vaccinated.

While the number new cases have dramatically slowed – no new cases have been reported in two days – there is a disturbing trend underlying the numbers: the extremely contagious Delta variant, which has sparked a surge of new infections among the unvaccinated south of the border.

"The more transmissible and dangerous COVID-19 Delta variant is now dominant in the area," the health unit said in its weekly roundup.

"Since July 1 … the majority (70 per cent) of COVID-19 cases reported in the Public Health Sudbury & Districts area are infected with a variant that has the Delta (B.1.617.2) mutation profile."

“The Delta variant can spread more easily and is associated with higher rates of hospitalization, ICU admission and death as compared with the Alpha variant,” Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, medical officer of health, said in a news release.

“COVID-19 vaccines are effective against Delta, but there is evidence of reduced protection against symptomatic disease after one dose. This means that two-dose vaccine coverage is important for everyone.

"Also, given how infectious Delta is, vaccination rates need to be as high as possible to protect against community spread. If you were waiting for yet another reason to get immunized, here it is,” she added.

Read the full weekly COVID-19 update from the health unit here.

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