What worries about the delta variant, according to a specialist 0:39
(CNN Spanish) -
The Puerto Rico Health Department confirmed on Tuesday the detection on the island of variant B.1.617.2 of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, designated as delta by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The first diagnosed case of this variant, one of those from India, was in a child under 4 years of age who was a resident of the United States and was a tourist on the island.
The minor was asymptomatic and did not require hospitalization.
For his part, the Secretary of Health, Carlos Mellado López, urged to remain calm after the confirmation of this variant.
"The variant is highly contagious and transmissible, however, we continue to focus on accelerating the vaccination process on the island," said the official.
According to the WHO, the delta variant is listed as of concern, contains mutations for which there is evidence that they can cause an increase in transmission and reduces the effectiveness of treatments.
At the moment, 12 variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been identified in Puerto Rico.
The one that predominates on the island is B.1.1.7 (United Kingdom) with 575 identified cases.
On the other hand, 70 cases of variant B.1.526.2 (New York), 64 cases of B.1.526 (New York) and 46 cases of B.1.526.1 (New York) have been registered.
In addition, 20 cases of variant P.1 (Brazil), 17 cases of B.1429 (California), eight cases of B.1.525 (New York), seven of variant B.1.427 (California), two cases of P2 (Brazil) and one case of variants B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3 (India).
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According to the Puerto Rico Health Department, as of June 15, there are 122,602 confirmed cases, 131,341 suspected cases, and 2,536 deaths from covid-19 on the island.
Until this same date, the authorities have administered 3,288,139 doses of the vaccine against covid-19.
A total of 1,501,571 people have already completed the series of doses against the virus and 1,877,474 individuals have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The vaccination process against covid-19 began in Puerto Rico in mid-December 2020.
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