Health

King County, like much of the nation, is in the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious Delta variant. With high rates of disease transmission, and our health care system straining to keep up, it is time to take additional steps to keep ourselves and our communities safe.

The Supreme Court formally denied a request from Texas abortion providers to freeze a state law that bars abortions after six weeks. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberal justices in dissent.

The COVID Delta variant is spreading through the world like wild fire. While some people may take the warnings from health officials as propaganda. The reality is that the Delta variant is more efficient, elusive and in many ways vastly superior to its predecessors.

“We are prepared to offer booster shots for all Americans beginning the week of September 20 and starting eight months after an individual’s second dose,” the officials wrote.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are accelerating across the state of Washington, demonstrating the delta variant’s potential to unravel our hard-fought progress toward recovery. Unvaccinated people are being hit hardest, and public health officials continue to urge everyone who has not gotten fully vaccinated to do so immediately.

"Within a 24-hour span, we had an assistant teacher pass away, a teacher at her school pass away, an elementary teacher pass away and another teacher at a high school," Anna Fusco, president of the Broward Teachers Union, told CNN affiliate WFOR.

The statement from HHS noted that "IHS, NIH and the Commissioned Corps already require such personnel to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine and other routine vaccinations, with processes for medical and religious exemptions."

According to experts, the Delta is a totally different virus from the original COVID-19 threat of 2020, as it spreads much quicker, and can infect people more rapidly. In addition, people infected with the Delta variant can begin to show symptoms in 3 – 4 days, as opposed to 5 – 6 days for the previous strains of the virus.

The rate of breakthrough cases reported among those fully vaccinated is well below 1 percent in all reporting states, ranging from 0.01 percent in Connecticut to 0.90 percent in Oklahoma.

The Delta variant, originally known as B.1.617.2, has been around since late last year but in recent months it has become speedily dominant in many countries. It accounts for more than 80% of newly diagnosed cases in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.