Highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 found in Long Beach

The Long Beach Health Department discovered the first instance of the more transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 yesterday, June 28.

The Delta variant is believed to be more transmissible and more likely to cause severe disease.

The variant is “of grave concern,” a Long Beach Health Department statement said.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health strongly recommends that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places as a precautionary measure.

In the week ending June 12, Delta variants comprised nearly half of all variants sequenced in Los Angeles County.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that Delta variants are now responsible for about one in every five new infections across the country, up from approximately one in every ten the week before.

The Delta variant is expected to become the dominant variant in the United States within weeks, the Long Beach Health Department said.

Both departments are urging residents to get vaccinated to protect themselves against severe illness.

In a release, LA County said that fully vaccinated people appear to be well-protected from infections with Delta variants, but people with only one dose of Pfizer or Moderna are not as well protected.

“While COVID-19 vaccine provides very effective protection preventing hospitalizations and deaths against the Delta variant, the strain is proving to be more transmissible and is expected to become more prevalent,” LA County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said, urging residents to wear masks.

The City of Long Beach offers vaccine clinics six days a week. The schedule can be found at longbeach.gov/vaxlb. No appointment is necessary at City-run vaccine clinics.