As the Delta coronavirus variant makes its way across the country, infectious disease experts, including one at Baystate Health, are continuing to encourage getting the COVID-19 vaccine as the public’s best defense.
“The Delta variant is known to be more transmissible,” said Dr. Armando Paez, head of the Infectious Disease Division at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. “It’s tied with more serious illness. With that being the more dominant strain circulating the United States and Massachusetts, there’s a high risk to patients, particularly those who are unvaccinated.”
The Delta variant — a mutation of the COVID-19 virus — was recently detected in a cluster of people in Provincetown, according to a Department of Public Health press release. While some cases in the cluster were among vaccinated individuals, the total number of cases among vaccinated people in Massachusetts remains extremely low, at 0.1 percent, or 5,166 cases out of over 4.3 million fully vaccinated residents, the release states.
“It takes a community to really suppress this transmission,” Paez said.
Compared to other counties, Franklin County’s COVID-19 cases remain low, with one new case reported as of Tuesday, according to the state Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 dashboard, which is now updated daily.
“As far as Franklin County, it looks like it has not increased compared to other parts of Western Massachusetts,” Paez said, noting that while hospitalizations have increased compared to a week ago, there aren’t any at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield.
By comparison, Paez noted, Hampden County has 29 new cases as of Tuesday, according to the dashboard.
“I try to correlate (the difference in data) with the vaccine rates,” he said, referencing the DPH dashboard. “In Franklin County, 67 percent are fully vaccinated compared to 57 percent in Hampden.”
He added that Franklin County, in general, is more open than other parts of the county, where there are larger cities and people living closer together.
“It’s still an evolving story with the Delta variant,” Paez said. “I believe vaccination is the best way to protect ourselves and our community.”
While the Delta variant is still being investigated, he said the COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to be effective in preventing serious illness.
“Very frequently, there are breakthrough infections,” he said. “Those are mild infections.”
Paez said even if younger groups of unvaccinated individuals are infected — and even if they aren’t seriously ill or hospitalized — they give the virus a chance to replicate and transmit, allowing the possibility for further mutations.
“Later on, the variant may be able to overcome the vaccines we received,” he said.
While the health care system isn’t preparing at this point for another surge, Paez said, the focus right now is on getting everyone in the community vaccinated.
“If you know someone who has not been vaccinated, try to talk about the benefits of getting vaccinated,” he said. “In general, what has been reported across the nation is that most of those infected with COVID-19 now and those who’ve died are those who have not been vaccinated.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.