Highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant spreading fast in California
The Delta coronavirus variant is now the third-most common in California, new data show
The variant makes up 14.5% of California coronavirus cases analyzed so far in June, up from 4.7% in May, when it was the fourth-most identified variant in California, according to data released by the California Department of Public Health.
But vaccinated people are well protected against infection and illness from the Delta variant.
In May, the Alpha variant made up 58.4% of coronavirus cases that were analyzed in California.
Alpha’s share fell in June, now making up 37.7% of analyzed cases — still the top variant but with a much smaller proportion.
Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, has confirmed 123 Delta variant cases
L.A. County data suggest that vaccines are still overwhelmingly effective in protecting people against the Delta variant, as well as other known variants.
Data released by the county showed that 99.8% of COVID-19 deaths from Dec. 7 to June 7 occurred among unvaccinated people.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert, called the strain “currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19.”