LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- While the COVID-19 Delta variant is spreading across the US in states with low vaccination rates, doctors with Norton Healthcare say the hospital group has not seen a single patient diagnosed with that variant.
That announcement came Monday morning, as two doctors gave an update on the status of the virus spread. They say the Delta variant is spreading across the U.S., but they are not seeing it in the group's Louisville hospitals.
However, the doctors caution that hospitals themselves do not test for variants. Instead, positive COVID tests are sent to a state lab for more specific testing.
Dr. Kristina Bryant, an infectious diseases specialist with Norton Children's Hospital says, "We're doing really well now, maybe better than some thought we would, but the pandemic isn't over."
Dr. Paul Schulz, an infectious diseases specialist and system epidemiologist for Norton Healthcare says, "The variants are difficult for us because we don't have the capability to test, at least initially."
Through the Co-Immunity Wastewater monitoring conducted by researchers at U of L, the Delta variant was present in the south-central Preston area of Louisville. Five cases were found.
Local doctors say there's a reason why COVID cases are going up. Dr. Schulz says, "I made a trip to a large box store yesterday and I was one of 3 people wearing a mask and I don't know what the vaccination rate was in that population, but lets just say it was average, it was 65 percent of whatever, then you're going to have cases."
Researchers found the Delta variant could spread faster than other strains of coronavirus- because it makes more copies of itself inside our bodies at a faster pace. Dr. Bryant says now is a good time for parents to get their children vaccinated before school starts. She says, "Fortunately most of them have had pretty mild illness, but we have had kids who have needed to be in ICU, and numbers nationwide, 1 in 3 will need ICU level care."
And Dr. Bryant says don't wait to get the vaccine because you're not fully protected until two weeks after the second dose. She says, "Kids who are too young to be vaccinated can be protected by wearing a mask when they're out in public, distancing and good hand hygiene."
Some health experts say adults should get vaccinated to protect children who are not yet eligible for the vaccine.
Dr. Kristina Bryant of Norton Children's Hospital
"Sure, some people are going to get mild COVID, but the vast majority of vaccinated people are not going to be hospitalized and nearly all of the deaths in the US are in the unvaccinated," said Dr. Bryant.
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