The Williamson County and Cities Health District on June 25 announced the county discovered and confirmed the first cases of the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant of COVID-19 through lab testing in June. According to the WCCHD news release, three cases of the variant have been confirmed.
“It is not surprising to see the Delta variant in our community given how rapidly it spreads,” WCCHD Lead Epidemiologist Allison Stewart said in the June 25 news release. “The good news is that the mRNA vaccines have been proven to be highly effective against this variant. The concern locally is that we have more than half the county that isn’t vaccinated and whom are still highly susceptible to this variant.”
The Delta variant of COVID-19 has increased transmissibility, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The WCCHD stated this strain is estimated to be the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the U.S. as early as August. According to the CDC, the variant strain was first identified in India.
Williamson County remains in the Yellow Phase of COVID-19 recovery. This means there is a moderate level of community spread, according to county materials. The county continues to ask all eligible residents to seek coronavirus vaccinations, according to the June 25 news release.
