The Louisiana health department has confirmed the state’s first two cases of the India COVID-19 variant. LSU Health Shreveport Virologist Dr. Jeremy Kamil says the two cases were detected in Caddo Parish.
“So, there are only two cases we’ve detected so far, but if you detect two there’s probably at least 50 times that many cases out there,” said Kamil.
The World Health Organization is concerned about the COVID strain from India because it is thought to be more transmissible. Kamil says the current COVID-19 vaccines are effective against this variant strain
“And the same things that protect you, protected you last April, will protect you now. Wearing a mask, getting a vaccine as soon as you can, those kinds of things are more important probably than the variants changing a little bit,” said Kamil.
Kamil said this variant is not completely responsible for the alarming outbreak in India. He said a low percentage of vaccinated individuals is a major factor, along with heavily populated cities and not wearing face masks.
There are now multiple variants of concern circulating in Louisiana. Kamil said the best to protect yourself is to get vaccinated.
“People can get infected and have a little bit of the virus in their mouth and nose and not even feel ill. If they are vaccinated, they are unlikely to transmit it to others. If they are not, they might transmit it to others even if they’ve already had COVID and recovered from it,” said Kamil.
To find the nearest vaccine site visit CovidVaccine.LA.gov
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