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GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado – Delta variant cases have increased rapidly in Mesa County, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control officials are concerned after seeing poorer vaccine effectiveness in the county compared to all other counties of State.
These results come from a CDC study of the virus in Mesa County from April 27 to June 6. The study, released Friday, also found higher intensive care admissions and case fatality rates in Mesa County compared to those in the rest of the state.
The study found that the COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing symptomatic infections was estimated at 78% in Mesa County, compared to 89% for other counties in Colorado.
The analysis also showed that COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Mesa County are admitted to the intensive care unit at a higher rate than the rest of the state. From April 27 to June 6, 34.5% of patients hospitalized in Mesa County were admitted to intensive care, compared to 23% in other counties in Colorado.
Of those admitted to the county hospital, 7% were fully vaccinated, compared to 4.8% in other counties in Colorado.
Although CDC officials have not identified a possible reason the vaccine appears to be less effective in the Western Slope area, Mesa County has one of the weakest vaccine coverage in the state.
In early May, the CDC reported that only 36% of eligible residents in Mesa County were fully immunized, compared to 44% immunization coverage in the rest of the state during the same period.
As demand for vaccines in the county began to decline, the delta variant began to emerge.
State health officials first identified the most contagious delta variant in Mesa County on May 5. The first five cases in the county were school-related, according to the CDC study.
Since it was first identified, Mesa County has seen a marked increase in the proportion of delta variant cases, which has more than doubled since early May. As of June 6, more than half of the delta variant specimens sequenced in Colorado were from Mesa County.
Studies indicate that the Delta variant causes more severe disease, with around double the hospitalization rate of the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) which was first identified in the UK, according to the Department of Colorado Public Health and Environment.
Health experts have pointed out that getting the vaccine offers the best protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
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