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The COVID-19 Delta variant reportedly made its way to San Angelo

With COVID-19 cases beginning to increase in the Concho Valley, health experts are urging people to get vaccinated to slow down the spread.

The City of San Angelo announced the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant has made its way to San Angelo. 

The San Angelo Health Department recently reported Tom Green County’s 317th Covid-19 related death.

Health officials are urging people to get the COVID-19 vaccine to lessen their chance of contracting the deadly virus.

"There's a large number of people that have not been vaccinated coming out positive, especially within the last 2-3 weeks. So I still say that as far as vaccinated and non-vaccinated, your non-vaccinated are still making up a large portion of the positive cases that are coming in,” San Angelo Health Services Director Sandra Villarreal shared.

Many aren’t exactly aware of what the Delta variant is. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe a variant as a virus's constant change through mutation. The CDC also says it was initially identified in India in Dec. 2020 and first detected in the United States in March 2021. 

Another question was raised by a San Angelo resident: does receiving the COVID-19 vaccine boost our chances of contracting the virus? Villarreal said no.

“The Delta variant is still COVID-19, it’s just a mutation of it. We want people to continue to social distance by being six feet apart and abide by the same COVID-19 protocols until things get resolved in the future,” Villarreal said. 

Reports show there have been over 17,000 positive cases in Tom Green County since last year. Now there are 220 active cases and 18 people currently hospitalized.  

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