The Indiana State Department of Health has confirmed that coronavirus variants are circulating in Bartholomew County, raising concerns among local officials that younger people and those who are not vaccinated may be at a heightened risk of serious illness.
As of Thursday, seven cases of COVID-19 variants had been detected in Bartholomew County, but state health officials do not have county-level data broken down by specific variant at this time, said Megan Wade-Taxter, spokeswoman for the Indiana State Department of Health.
Currently, state health officials are tracking several worrisome variants across the state but are only sequencing a small percentage of the viral samples they receive, state health commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said in a press briefing Wednesday.
Among the most prevalent strains being tracked include the B.1.1.7 variant, which originated in the U.K.; P.1, from Brazil; B.1.351, from South Africa; and B.1.427 and 1.429, both from California.
Evidence suggests that these variants can spread more easily than most currently circulating strains of COVID-19, with the U.K. strain believed to be about 50% more contagious, while the South Africa one may render the vaccines somewhat less effective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of Wednesday, there had been 1,076 confirmed cases of coronavirus variants in Indiana, including 823 cases of the U.K. variant, 210 of the California variants, 37 of the Brazil variant and six of the South Africa variant, according to state records.
In Indiana, about 47% of sequenced specimens tested positive for the U.K. variant during the month ending April 10, according to the CDC.
State health officials on Wednesday said that strain is quickly becoming the dominant variant in Indiana.
The U.K. variant has surged in a six-state region that includes Indiana in recent weeks, going from 9% of sequenced specimens during the two weeks ending Jan. 30 to nearly 68% of cases during the 14 days preceding April 10, CDC records show.
“It is suspected that variants are the predominant cause of new COVID cases in the U.S. now,” said Dr. Brian Niedbalski, Bartholomew County health officer. “So having variants in Bartholomew County is not a surprise to me. I would have concern for people who aren’t vaccinated at this time. Variants may cause more severe disease and seem to spread easier from person to person. The variants are causing more severe illness in the younger population.”
The first confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants in Bartholomew County comes as health officials across the country say they’re in a race to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible as COVID-19 mutations spread and mask and distancing rules are relaxed, The Associated Press reported.
The longer it takes to vaccinate people, health officials say, the more likely it is that a variant that can elude current tests, treatments and vaccines could emerge, according to wire reports.
So far, it appears that the three COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized in the U.S. provide some protection from the most worrisome variants, according to the CDC.
“Studies suggest that antibodies generated through vaccination with currently authorized vaccines recognize these variants,” according to the CDC. “This is being closely investigated and more studies are underway.”
However, the variants have underscored the importance of vaccinating people as quickly as possible. Slowing transmission is critical since viruses can mutate when they infect people and local health officials worry about further mutations, particularly as COVID-19 transmission remains high in much of the world.
For her part, Box said the U.K. variant in particular is likely more virulent and might be contributing to the increase in younger people in Indiana being hospitalized with COVID-19.
“When we first started talking about the (U.K.) variant, we said it’s much more transmissible, you know 1.5 times more transmissible, so easier to infect other individuals,” Box said. “We didn’t really think that there was an increased severity of cases, but really the studies are showing that there probably is an increased severity in those cases. The fact that we are seeing more younger people right now in the hospital with this is because they’re the ones who have not had access to the vaccine, and of course our little ones don’t have access and won’t have access for quite a while.
“Getting vaccines in arms is more important than ever as the number of variants increases across the United States,” Box added.
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Visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html for more information about coronavirus variants.
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This Sunday, Republic reporter Andy East will examine how local and state health officials will try to get more people vaccinated, and the common myths about the vaccine that are causing hesitation. Look for it in Sunday’s Republic.
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