Delta variant striking younger people in Stanislaus County. Most are not vaccinated
The latest surge of COVID-19 in Stanislaus County is affecting younger populations not protected by vaccine, while infecting fewer older people who have higher vaccination rates, a top health official said.
The county Health Services Agency reported 352 cases among children in July, or 17% of the 2,017 people who tested positive last month.
As the highly infectious delta variant spurred the outbreaks, the preliminary data suggest local children were infected at a higher rate last month than what’s occurred over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. Children have accounted for 13% of COVID-19 cases statewide.
County residents 44 years old or younger accounted for 1,422 of the new cases, which is 70% of the total since COVID-19 infections increased in July.
Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, the county’s chief health officer, said Wednesday the highly infectious delta variant is the predominant strain making residents sick.
Vaishampayan said the trend toward younger people contracting the illness is probably expected because older people are protected by vaccine.
Seniors 65 and older were the most vulnerable early in the coronavirus pandemic, but only 156 tested positive locally in July. They represented a smaller percentage of cases in July (7.7%) after accounting for 11.5% of cases during the pandemic.
In Stanislaus County, about 80% of seniors 65 or older are fully or partially vaccinated, while 30% of the 12 to 17 age group have some level of vaccination. Half of adults 18 to 49 are fully or partially vaccinated. The other half are not.
The delta variant seems to create higher viral loads in the nose and throat of infected people, which could explain why it spreads more quickly, Vaishampayan said.
It is more transmissible than earlier strains of the coronavirus: Instead of one person spreading the contagious virus to 2.5 other people, a single person might spread the virus to five people.
The variant sweeping California replicates faster, possibly cutting the incubation period to one day, the health officer said.
County public health pulled case data from April 1 to July 31 and checked the names against the vaccine registry, finding 95% of cases were unvaccinated people and 5% were vaccinated, Vaishampayan said.
Though breakthrough cases in vaccinated people are expected to increase, health experts say the vaccine is effective in preventing serious illness and hospitalization.
County officials can’t attribute the spike in July to Independence Day gatherings, though they probably were a factor. Vaishampayan said travel, social gatherings and the lifting of coronavirus regulations are the different ways the virus is spread.
Hospitals see an increase in patients
COVID hospitalizations rose to 125 on Wednesday, with 34 patients in intensive care units, compared to 40 hospitalized patients or less the first half of July.
A nurse at Memorial Medical Center said many of the COVID patients in the Modesto hospital are in their late teens, 20s or 30s. The COVID floor was down to about four patients in mid-July and then the number jumped to 27 almost overnight, said the nurse, who asked not to be identified because of hospital policies.
“It seems like it hits them harder and faster,” the nurse said. “They come in and need a lot of oxygen right away. ... Last year, it was older people and they had other illness going on.”
The hospital recorded three deaths among older patients in one day after the COVID admissions increased last month, the nurse said.
Except for two vaccinated patients, the employee said the recently hospitalized patients are not vaccinated, and some express pride in not believing in vaccines.
“It is super frustrating,” the nurse said. “We know what is causing this. It is spreading like wildfire among the unvaccinated.”
Vaishampayan said the county health agency has not seen many children hospitalized with COVID-19 during the pandemic. The total number over the 16-month period was 63 hospitalizations when the data was checked two weeks ago.
There’s some indication of more COVID illness in children with the delta variant but it tends to be more mild than with adults. Children younger than 12, who are not eligible for the vaccine, are among the unvaccinated people susceptible to catching the virus.
Valley Children’s Hospital near Fresno is seeing more children come in with COVID-19 symptoms, a spokesperson said Thursday. The hospital and healthcare system serves children in the San Joaquin Valley.
The positivity rate for children tested at the hospital or before surgery rose from 1.2 percent in June to 3.9 percent in July, Spokeswoman Zara Arboleda said. “The numbers are still small, but they are going up,” she said.
Precautions including masks and social distancing can keep children from getting COVID-19. Masks usually are recommended indoors in places outside the home, unless someone is sick with COVID at home, Vaishampayan said.
Unvaccinated family members are a potential source of infection for children who are too young for the shots.
“If a child has symptoms, they should be tested,” Vaishampayan said. “Most children, like most adults (with COVID), are going to be fine.”
Vashampayan said the recent delta surge could peak toward the end of August based on previous surges that were in an acceleration phase for five to seven weeks before tapering off. The continued spread of COVID-19 raises the chances that additional more infectious variants will appear on the horizon.
“The pandemic is not over,” Vaishampayan said. “We need to continue to take precautions because the more the virus spreads, the more it changes into something that puts us a step back in the pandemic.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2021 at 11:55 AM.
