Millions of residents in Los Angeles and Orange County have gotten at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19. Now a more contagious, deadlier strain of the virus —Delta — is spreading across the country and affecting those who have not been fully vaccinated.

Having at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines provides limited protection, but only fully vaccinated individuals are well protected from the Delta variant. The alarming number of new infections from this highly contagious version of the coronavirus has prompted the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to strongly recommend wearing a mask indoors to stay protected. Now is not the time for communities to lower their guard as the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19 continues.

What is a variant?

Viruses are always mutating. Think about the flu virus. There is a different strain to fight each year because it is constantly changing.

The same is happening with the virus that causes COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently tracking four variants in the United States:

• Alpha — This was first discovered in the United Kingdom. It was detected in the U.S. in December 2020.
• Beta — This first appeared in South Africa in December. It appeared in the U.S. in January 2021.
• Gamma — This was discovered in Japan in early January, carried by travelers from Brazil. It showed up in the U.S. later that month.
• Delta — This was identified in India in December of last year. The first U.S. case appeared in March 2021.

These variants are the most contagious and, left unchecked, can put a remarkable strain on the health care system which may ultimately lead to more deaths.

Stopping the spread

No matter how much we would like to, we can’t go back to how our lives were before the pandemic yet. The Delta variant has the potential to spark new outbreaks across the United States and around the world.

• Get vaccinated — Vaccines are the fastest and most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• Give vaccines time to work — It takes about two weeks for your immune system to be protected.
• Use caution in group gatherings — The safest social gatherings are those where all participants have been fully vaccinated.
• Masks protect against new strains — The coronavirus needs new hosts in order to mutate. Masks help prevent infections and therefore lower the risk of new variants developing.

Don’t ease up

For now, if you have been fully vaccinated:

• You still need to follow local and state safety guidelines.
• Wear a face mask when indoors or in crowds to protect yourself and others.
• Maintain hand hygiene — use hand sanitizer to clean hands frequently, and wash hands for 20 seconds at a time.
• Practice physical distancing — stay six feet apart from others whether inside or outside.
• Wipe down any surfaces you touch.

For more information about the vaccine or testing, please visit AltaMed.org or call us at (888) 499-9303. Find a vaccine event happening in your community here.