Doctors explain how Delta variant can infect those who are fully vaccinated, leading to increased hospitalizations

SAINT ANTHONY – The number of COVID-19 Delta variant cases is increasing in San Antonio, with a 66% increase in hospitalizations over the past week, according to city data.

The region is also experiencing groundbreaking cases, which give a positive test result for COVID-19 in a person who is fully vaccinated. An internal document from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that a vaccinated person who becomes infected can transmit the virus as easily as a person who is not.

“The previous variant, one person would give it to maybe two, three people. The virus with this variant is on the order of transmitting it to eight to nine people. So it’s really like a different virus. It’s just a lot more contagious, ”said Dr. Jan Patterson, infectious disease specialist at UT Health San Antonio.

According to the CDC, the COVID-19 Delta variant can be spread as easily as chickenpox. Its high viral load and rate of transmissibility make it so dangerous.

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“There is a lot more virus in the upper respiratory tract, which increases transmission, which is why even fully vaccinated people can now get a mild infection,” Patterson said.

Rita Espinoza, head of epidemiology at the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, said that while people vaccinated can still be infected, the vaccine remains the best way to protect themselves.

“(The vaccine is) there to protect you from serious illness, hospitalization and death, which is the message we’ve always said – that it may not stop you from getting COVID, but hopefully you would have milder disease, ”Espinoza said.

She added that 95% of hospitalizations in the San Antonio area were unvaccinated.

The CDC has reinstated its recommendation on wearing a mask regardless of vaccination status.

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An investigation into what scientists believe to be a coronavirus outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts, has infected nearly 900 people, 74% of whom have been vaccinated.

“Unfortunately, we are in a new phase of this pandemic. That means we have to wear our masks indoors, and that means you have to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, ”Patterson said.