Health officials are continuing to sound the alarm about the threat from the COVID-19 Delta variant.
In interviews this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, warned that the Delta variant is fast becoming the biggest threat in the U.S.
“It will be the dominant strain among those areas, those regions of the country where the vaccination rate is lower than we would like,” Fauci said.
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South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control said if more people are not fully vaccinated, COVID-19 and its variants will continue to spread, possibly mutate further and make current vaccines less effective.
“Being fully vaccinated with one of the three vaccines currently available is the number one way to protect yourself from COVID-19, including the Delta variant,” Dr. Jonathan Knoche, DHEC public health medical consultant, said.
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Dr. Rodger MacArthur, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, said most cases of variants in Georgia are the Alpha variant, also known as the UK variant; however the Delta variant is also a threat.
“Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are about 95% effective at preventing infection with the Delta variant two weeks after the second dose, and probably close to 100% effective at preventing serious infection with the Delta variant. However, after just one dose of the vaccine, the efficacy is estimated to be only about 33%,” he said.
Currently, Georgia is reporting fewer than 20 cases of the Delta variant.
On the horizon is the July 4 holiday, however.
DHEC’s Dr. Knoche said, “I think definitely people should go ahead and start their immunization series. Getting the first dose of Moderna or Pfizer begins to provide some level of immunity, even if doesn’t reach its fullest extent until two weeks after the second dose.”
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Dr. Fauci said the upcoming holiday is a good reason to get vaccinated.
“If they are unvaccinated, they are at risk. Whereas those who are vaccinated can have a great 4th of July. You can do all the things you want to do on the 4th of July,” he said.
Also this week, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued what he said will be the last executive order extending the current public health state of emergency.
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“Thanks to those efforts, more Georgians are getting vaccinated, our economic momentum is strong and people are getting back to normal. We have emerged resilient, and I thank all Georgians for doing their part,” said the governor.
The Georgia public health emergency will end Thursday, July 1 at midnight.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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