As Delta Plus Variant Nears CT, CDC Is Not Raising The Alarm

CONNECTICUT — If there is one thing we know for sure about the variations of the coronavirus, it's that the global health agencies are no slouches when it comes to their marketing.

The COVID-19 mutations quickly graduated from the series of letters and numbers that only immunology geeks could love ("B.1.1.," "B.1.427/429," "B.1.617.1 " and that ilk) to the always ominous Greek alphabet designations. Now there is "delta plus," recently detected just one state away from Connecticut.

Delta plus is one of 20 delta variants, but it's getting the attention currently because of the traction it is getting in the U.K. Currently, about 10 percent of sequenced virus samples in England are of the delta plus variety.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said last week that her agency is keeping a close eye on the new player, known less glamorously as AY.4.2

"We’re watching it very carefully. We have had a handful of cases here in the United States but it has not taken off as it has in the U.K.," Walensky said on NBC’s "Meet the Press."

"It has several mutations on the spike protein that we have not yet seen implicated in increased transmissibility or in a decreased ability of our vaccines or therapeutics to work," Walensky said.

The data is still limited, but preliminary evidence out of the U.K. indicates delta plus carries the same risk of hospitalization and death as the more familiar delta variant.

Walensky said the spike in delta plus cases in Europe would not likely result in a ban on flights from across the Atlantic.

"We're absolutely following the science very, very carefully, but we are not anticipating or looking into that right now."

It won't be long before there is preliminary data out of the U.S. Delta plus has been detected in at least five cases in Washington, D.C., California, North Carolina, Washington state and Massachusetts.

Based on data released by the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data on Oct. 28, the delta variant continues to have a lock on coronavirus cases in Connecticut. The chart below shows the change in proportion of circulating variants of concern by week. Data includes sequences from specimens with dates of collection from March 2, 2020, through Oct. 19, 2021.

Of the 2,380,490 Connecticut residents who have completed their vaccine series as of Oct. 28, 0.74 percent have contracted the virus, up 0.04 percent from last week's report from the Department of Public Health.

One hundred and fifty COVID-19 related deaths have occurred among the 16,760 fully vaccinated persons confirmed with COVID-19. These deaths represent 12.5 percent of all COVID-19 deaths since Feb. 9, 2021, up 0.2 percent from last week's data drop from the state Department of Public Health.

Thirty residents have died from COVID-19 over the past seven days, up from last week's report of 14 deaths from the state Department of Public Health. The coronavirus death toll in the state is currently 8,751.

Connecticut is not alone in the uptick. The World Health Organization reported Thursday that worldwide numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths are increasing for the first time in two months as the virus surges across Europe.

Across the U.S., the current seven-day moving average of daily new cases (68,793) decreased 7.4 percent compared with the previous seven-day moving average (74,290). A total of 45,655,635 COVID-19 cases have been reported as of Oct. 27, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The charts above and below show the "relative risk," or the difference in risk when comparing rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated persons.

The latest data show unvaccinated residents have an 18 times higher risk of dying from the coronavirus, compared to the vaccinated. Their risk of hospitalization is also 18 times greater.

Although coronavirus deaths in Connecticut have declined markedly since February, it is important to note that death — and hospitalization — rates have consistently been higher among unvaccinated persons compared to fully vaccinated persons.

According to the latest weekly release of statewide data from CDC about 70.6 percent of Connecticut's population has received all their COVID-19 vaccine shots. The state's vaccination rate is second behind only Vermont. About 57.6 percent of Americans have completed their vaccine series, according to the CDC. That's up 0.2 percent from last week.

Looking at the total population of 3,575,074, Connecticut's vaccination rate is 70.7 percent, the third highest in the U.S., behind Vermont and Rhode Island, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Predictably, residents in the eastern area of the state, with the highest coronavirus infection rates, are also least likely to be fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the data released by DPH.

Mansfield remains the outlier, still with less than 38 percent of its population fully vaccinated. Of all Connecticut municipalities, only Canaan has fully vaccinated all its residents.

As of Thursday, those residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19 include more than 95 percent of those over the age of 65, 91 percent of those between 55-64 (up 1 percent from last week), 82 percent of those between 45-54, 82 percent of those between 35-44, 75 percent of those between 25-34, 70 percent of those between 18-24, 80 percent of those between 16-17, and 70 percent of those between 12-15 (up 1 percent). Except where noted, there has been no percentage increase in the number vaccinated in each age tier since last week.

The reticence among Connecticut residents to be vaccinated can best be illustrated in the graph above, which shows the progress toward full vaccination for each age tier from the start of their eligibility is up less than a half-point from last week.

With 424 cases confirmed overnight, out of 27,848 tests reported, the daily coronavirus positivity rate reported Friday afternoon was 1.52 percent, down from 1.79 seven days earlier.

<

Hospitalizations dropped one bed, in the latest data. As of Friday, 190 residents are being treated for the virus inside Connecticut hospitals.

Most of those hospitalized (65) are in New Haven County.

See Also: Bullets Strike Vehicle Stopped At Red Light: Police

• Bullets Strike Vehicle Stopped At Red Light: Hamden Police
• 'Cupcake Wars' Winning Chefs Open New Connecticut Bakery