MILWAUKEE — Health leaders in Milwaukee County believe the Delta coronavirus variant is concerning to residents as the Centers for Disease Control announced there is growing evidence the variant is more contagious and causes more severe cases.
The Delta variant was first detected in India and has since become the dominant strain in the United Kingdom.
Milwaukee's Commissioner of Health, Kirsten Johnson, reported two cases of the Delta variant were detected in Milwaukee County at the end of May.
Dr. Ben Weston, with the Medical College of Wisconsin and Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management, said the good news is the vaccines appear to be effective against the Delta variant.
The CDC reported the Delta variant accounts for nearly 10 percent of new cases in the United States.
Dr. Weston noted the U.S. is seeing a similar trajectory in numbers as in the U.K.
Health experts have said people who have not been vaccinated against coronavirus are more vulnerable.
"I think the take-home point is we live in a society now of two different groups. We have fully vaccinated individuals who are very protected from this pandemic, from COVID, from all the variants; and then we have unvaccinated folks, whose studies at analyses have shown are very similar risk profile, how they've been for the last 16 months," Dr. Weston said.
Mass vaccination sites may be gone in Milwaukee, but the city continues to work with partners at several vaccine clinics, including one at Helfaer Field where people who get their shot on-site also get two free Brewers tickets. Later this week shots will be offered at Fiserv Forum ahead of the Bucks' playoff game and the Juneteenth celebration.