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Due to rising COVID cases in Fishers and Hamilton County, the Fishers Health Department’s (FHD) primary metric area is yellow this week, with several sub-metrics in orange.
Testing availability, turnaround time, and contact tracing remains in green.
ICU hospital capacity is green; however, FHD officials have seen an increase in new daily hospitalizations (yellow).
Overall, the risk rating is still in Level 1 (green), but with how numbers are trending, FHD will likely increase the community risk rating next week.
A total of 76 percent of Fishers residents have received their first dose and 68 percent are fully vaccinated. The City of Fishers’ stated goal to beat COVID requires at least 85 percent of city residents to take the vaccine.
Click here to watch the full metrics report.
What about the delta variant?
The Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, spreads more than twice as easily as the earlier strain. The Delta variant is about as transmissible as the chicken pox, infecting an average of eight or nine other people. The original lineage was about as transmissible as the common cold, with each infected person passing the virus to an average of two other people.
It is now the dominant strain in the U.S. and accounts for 91 percent of sequenced specimens in Indiana and greater than 83 percent of all new COVID cases across the U.S.
People infected with the Delta variant carry up to 1,000 times more virus particles in their nasal passages than other strains, resulting in higher transmissibility.
Studies show fully vaccinated people can spread the delta variant, which is why experts recommend masks in indoor settings.
There is still no data to support the need for a booster vaccine at this time, as emerging evidence indicates durability in immune response from vaccinated individuals. Recommendations on if and when booster shots will be needed continues to be studied.
The CDC’s COVID-19 Data Tracker is the source to learn if your community is in a substantial or high area of transmission.
You can learn more about the Delta variant by watching this video.