Delta variant, vaccine reluctance behind Covid-19 case spikes in Oregon

OREGON- Oregon’s covid cases are on the rise again, especially among the unvaccinated population. Health officials are pointing to the rapid-spreading Delta variant as the reason. They are urging people to protect themselves and others before it gets even worse.

The new Delta variant strain is two times more transmissible. It’s behind the state’s spike in covid cases, which is up to about one thousand cases a day.

“That is as bad as it was the worst of the pandemic,” said OHA Senior Health Advisor, Dr. Bukosi Dube. The Delta variant makes up about 80 percent of those new cases. He says the variant, combined with low vaccination rates, makes for a concerning trend.

“What we know is that 99.5% of the people who are hospitalized now hospitalized, are people who are not vaccinated. And the vast majority of them, because of the delta variant,” he explained.

Reaching a 70% vaccinated population was intended to establish herd immunity. But with less people that anticipated getting vaccinated, and the removal of many early pandemic precautions, like masking and social distancing, the Delta variant has emerged.

“We didn’t anticipate that the Delta variant would cause as much of a problem as it has and is causing,” Dr. Dube said.

Being vaccinated does not prevent you from getting covid, especially from the highly transmissible delta variant. But it will likely keep you from serious hospitalization and death, which was the main goal of the vaccine from the start.

“There is an increased risk from those that are even vaccinated that they could get mild disease. It’s still unlikely that they will get seriously ill,” explained Jackson County Public Health Director Dr. Jim Shames. The county saw more than a hundred cases multiple days this week, even leading the state in case county on Thursday with 111.

The quick rise in cases is also putting a strain on local health resources. The CDC ranks Jackson County at the highest level of community transmission risk.

“Our hospitals are getting full, our ICU capacity for the region is very low,” Dr. Shames said.

“We have two pandemics. One not looking so bad for the vaccinated. And one looking pretty bad for the not vaccinated,” he added.

Dr. Shames says vaccination rates have slowed dramatically in Jackson County, and he says the vaccination opportunities we have are over-resourced and under utilized.

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