GREENSBURG, IN — With a COVID-19 positivity rate of more than 10% in Decatur County, officials from both Decatur County Memorial Hospital (DCMH) and the Decatur County Health Department are encouraging residents to protect themselves from an increasingly contagious virus by obtaining a vaccination and wearing a mask when within public settings. They also advise practicing social distancing and good hand hygiene.
The recommendations come as cases of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus have been identified as the predominant strain impacting Indiana at this time. According to new information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the mutation of the virus is 50% more contagious than the original strain of the virus and is more contagious than the
common cold or chickenpox.
The result of this contagion: Vaccinated individuals can transmit the virus (even without obvious symptoms) to those who are unvaccinated – including those with immune-compromised systems and children under 12 who are ineligible for the vaccine. Sean Durbin with the Decatur County Health Department said, “While breakthrough cases of COVID-19 are possible (infections among those who are fully vaccinated), they only account for a small percentage of positive cases. Those who have received the vaccine have milder symptoms.”
“We have known all along that this Delta variant would be challenging,” said Dana Hollis, DCMH Infection Prevention Manager. “Most importantly, vaccinations continue to protect the population against the worst outcomes.”
According to DCMH CEO Rex McKinney, a proactive approach to this recent variant will prevent a surge from impacting local healthcare workers. “We don’t want to return to the high number of extremely sick patients we had last year,” he said. “By getting the vaccine and protecting ourselves with masks, we can ease the burden on both the public and health care professionals.”
(Decatur County Memorial Hospital collaborative press release with Decatur County Health Department)
