NEW ORLEANS — The first case of covid's "Delta-Plus" variant has been detected in Louisiana by Ochsner Health officials, according to our partners at Nola.com.
According to the report, the new variant is two times as infectious as the original strain of covid-19 and has the same higher rate of transmission as the Delta variant that was found in India.
“It gives you a double whammy. It’s a more infectious virus and it’s a virus that is not as easily neutralized by antibodies,” said Dr. Lucio Miele at LSU Health New Orleans.
The article states vaccinated people are protected from the variant because the vaccine keeps the virus out in many different ways, but those that are not vaccinated should not rely on natural immunity, even if they've had COVID before.
“This virus can get past the defenses that our bodies made against earlier pandemic viruses,” said Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at LSU Health Shreveport.“You’re much better off if you’ve gotten the vaccine.”
