As the Delta variant spreads, unvaccinated communities are at risk
NIAD Director Anthony Fauci is urging more Americans to get vaccinated as places with low vaccination rates see COVID-19 spikes.
While most of the U.S. is experiencing very low case numbers of COVID-19, Missouri, Utah, Nevada, and Arkansas are reporting an increase in new cases. These spikes are predominately taking place in areas with low vaccination rates. There is concern that these communities may be more vulnerable to the new Delta variant, originally discovered in India and increasingly worming its way through the U.S.
Missouri is perhaps the worst-hit region. Only 38% of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, but some counties have registered far lower vaccination rates. The state health department in collaboration with the natural resources department and the University of Missouri is tracking which COVID-19 variants are arising in the state through wastewater testing. The program, called the Sewershed Surveillance Project, has found the highly transmissible Delta variant to be spreading in 10 counties.