After enjoying a month of the lowest COVID-19 levels seen since the start of the pandemic, the coronavirus is once again gaining steam in Hamilton County, with the average number of new cases rising more than 250% and test positivity rate doubling in the past two weeks.
The latest resurgence is no surprise to experts, who have been warning that the more contagious delta variant would soon take hold and sweep through pockets of the nation where vaccination levels are low.
Hamilton County’s rate of new COVID-19 vaccinations has dropped since mid-April, leaving 58% of the county with only partial or no vaccine protection from the virus, according to data from the Hamilton County Health Department updated on Friday.
Other factors, such as the recent holiday weekend – which local tourism experts said rivaled 2019’s record travel figures – and the return of large, in-person activities without face masks are creating ample opportunities for the virus to find its way into susceptible hosts.
“It’s that simple. You have a viral strain that is making its way through the United States fairly quickly, and it’s approximately 75% more transmissible than the wild-type [original] virus,” said Dr. Mark Anderson, an infectious disease specialist at CHI Memorial. “If you have lots of unvaccinated people, they will get infected even easier than with the wild-type virus. And just like the wild-type virus, a certain percentage of them will be super shedders and will spread it to others. So in areas around the country with low vaccination rates, numbers have climbed quickly.”