What You Need to Know About the Delta Variant

All three vaccines are effective against the Delta variant.

Studies of all three vaccines have shown that they all offer protection against the Delta variant. All vaccines are very good at preventing serious effects from COVID—like dying or having to be hospitalized—even with the Delta variant. In the US right now, almost all deaths from COVID are among unvaccinated people. The vaccine is the best tool we have to defend against COVID, including variants.

If you are healthy and vaccinated, the CDC does not recommend taking additional precautions at this time, such as wearing a mask or physically distancing from others because vaccines are so effective at protecting you from COVID. Additionally, we have exceptional vaccination coverage in Dane County, with nearly 67% of our population fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, and a low rate of cases (currently averaging about 16 cases per day).

If you’re not vaccinated, you are at risk for catching COVID-19.

The Delta variant spreads very easily. That means that even if you have managed to avoid COVID so far, you might not be able to avoid the Delta strain because it’s better at finding unvaccinated people.

While our community has done an excellent job getting vaccinated, there are still people who remain unprotected. Because Delta can spread so easily, we will likely see more COVID cases in groups of unvaccinated people in Dane County.  Places outside of Dane County with low vaccination coverage (like Missouri and Arkansas) will likely see even more COVID cases because Delta can spread so easily. When there are surges in COVID cases, hospitalizations tend to follow. This is why it is so important to keep up our vaccination efforts—the more vaccinated our communities, the more we’ll be able to stop the spread of the Delta variant, and any other variants to emerge in the future.

For people who are not or cannot be vaccinated yet, continue masking up in indoor spaces.

Vaccines are still the best tool we have to keep COVID at bay. If you are not yet vaccinated, head over to our website to find a free vaccine near you. For people under 12 who cannot yet be vaccinated, or if you still are not willing to be vaccinated, continue to wear a mask in indoor spaces to protect yourself and others from Delta. People who are immunocompromised could have reduced immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines and may need to continue to follow  prevention measures, like wearing a mask and avoiding crowded, poorly ventilated spaces. Talk to your doctor about what’s right for you.