OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — According to the Douglas County Health Department, there are now 34 confirmed cases of the Delta coronavirus variant in the area. Health officials say it is now the dominant variant in the area.
The Delta variant is more transmissible than the original virus and even other variants we've seen.
Overall, COVID cases and even hospitalizations are once again on the rise.
"I think that all the numbers are going in the wrong direction. We’re not doing as well as we’d like but clearly if we compare to the numbers now to where we were in the dark days of the late fall and the winter, we’re very, very much better," said Dr. Mark Rupp, chief of infectious diseases at Nebraska Medical Center.
Although the numbers aren't as high as when the state peaked in the fall and winter, Dr. Rupp still says it's frustrating.
"Everybody who gets sick now and ends up in the hospital and losing their lives to COVID-19 is really a preventable hospitalization and preventable death. The data is clear that the vast majority of folks who are coming into the hospital having severe disease losing their lives are those unvaccinated," Dr. Rupp says.
Health officials say the variant is going to find those areas that have low vaccination rates and spread rapidly. They suggest the community to get vaccinated as that's the best way to protect yourself against the virus.
"If you are vaccinated, it does improve the odds of staying out of the hospital and it does improve survival rate dramatically. Thats what vaccines do, it keeps you from getting as sick as you would’ve," said Phil Rooney, resource specialist for the Douglas County Health Department.