ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Health officials have now detected the Delta variant of COVID-19 in Orange County, and say it will be just a matter of weeks before it becomes the dominant strain.
What You Need To Know
- Health officials in Orange County say they have detected 12 cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant
- Highly contagious, Delta is listed by the WHO as a "variant of concern"
- Experts say Delta could become the dominant strain in Florida in a matter of weeks
The Florida Department of Health in Orange County says there are 12 reported cases of the highly contagious variant, which was first identified in India.
The World Health Organization has classified Delta as a "variant of concern."
Erika Grumet got her shot, but worries about what “Delta” will translate to.
“I have friends who are long haulers from COVID already, and seeing what they’ve gone through and trying to imagine that experience magnified is just beyond comprehension, really," said Grumet.
Health officials say, there's not much to worry about, if you’re vaccinated.
However, they say it should come as no surprise that the people most vulnerable to this Delta variant, are the people who are not vaccinated.
“You want to just shake them. It’s like what the heck? Why are you not taking it," said Dr. Raul Pino, with the Florida Department of Health in Orange County.
Pino says his biggest concern is with kids under 12, who can’t get the vaccine.
“With this variant getting dominant, and we were talking about this for the last five weeks, that’s a perfect storm," said Pino. "With kids coming into school, not masking, high concentration, high population density, a lot of change and new variants."
One of Grumet’s children is in that category.
“I’d like to keep them home at least for the first term if it’s possible, but we don’t know what our options are gonna be yet either," she said.
Officials say they currently don’t have any data about the demographics or test dates of the 12 known Delta variant cases.