COLUMBUS, Ind. — 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 on 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.
For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.
