The Vermont Department of Health has identified its first case of the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant in a Chittenden County resident, who had traveled internationally.
The state found the first case “around the middle of May,” according to department spokesperson Ben Truman.
The variant, which was first identified in India, has spread rapidly in the United Kingdom, outpacing the original alpha Covid-19 variant. It has been found in more than 60 countries and so far accounts for about 6% of the cases in the U.S., Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a news briefing this week.
The Delta variant, also known as B.1.167, has split into additional strains, including B.1.167.2, which caused a surge in cases in Britain. It’s about 40% more transmissible than the original Covid-19 strain, Fauci said.
The variant does not appear to have spread in Vermont, Truman said. Since the state first identified the case, the Department of Health has been sending more Chittenden County samples to the state lab for genomic sequencing, he said. The state has not found other cases.
“Neither the CDC nor Vermont is concerned this is spreading on a rampage,” Truman said. “The absence of information doesn’t mean it’s not out there.”
That’s true of any Covid-19 strain, he said.
Early research suggests that Covid-19 vaccines provide some protection against the Delta variant, though slightly less than the protection against the original strain. Fauci warned Tuesday that without widespread vaccination, the Delta variant could become the predominant strain of Covid-19 in the U.S. as it has across the Atlantic.
“We cannot let that happen in the United States,” Fauci said, calling the spread in the U.K. “a powerful argument” for vaccination. About 64% of the total U.S. population has gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. In Vermont, about 72% of all residents have received at least one shot.
In Vermont, officials have already identified five variants, including B.1.1.7, which was first found in the U.K., and P1, which was first identified in Brazil.
The Department of Health does not publicly list the Delta virus variant among the others because of the way it’s been classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state publicly lists strains only when they are designated by the CDC as “variants of concern,” but the CDC has labeled the Delta strain one notch down as “a variant of interest” because the Covid-19 vaccines are widely effective against the strain.
Health Department officials will continue to monitor the spread of the variants, but Truman said the state is focusing on ensuring Vermonters get the vaccine.
“Right now, our strategy is to vaccinate everyone who can get vaccinated,” he said. “That’s how you stop the virus, regardless of what variant.”