A mutation of the predominant delta variant was detected in Santa Clara County on Wednesday.
Santa Clara County's COVID-19 variant dashboard has reported almost 50 total cases of mutated delta variants of the coronavirus, including 46 cases of "AY.1 variant" known as delta plus.
Officials categorized delta plus as a "variant of concern," but it is not yet known if the plus is more resistant to a vaccine or more transmissible than the original delta variant. "It’s the nature of RNA viruses, such as the coronavirus, to evolve and change gradually," Dr. Sharone Green, infection control officer, told KCBS Radio.
"Unfortunately, because of the large numbers of people who remain unvaccinated, there remains a pool where the virus can easily infect and replicate," she explained.
For future safety, Green recommends that people continue to wear masks, avoid crowds - "don’t go to Lollapalooza type events" - she said and, most importantly, the United States needs to continue vaccinating as many people as they can as quickly as possible.
"When you have variants, you've got to be ready," Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview with CSIS on Tuesday. "It isn't going to be where you have one pathogen and one drug that's the knockout homerun drug. You always have to be ready to continue to develop alternatives that could keep up with the variants."
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