Vermilion County Health Department Administrator Douglas Toole says the county is continuing to maintain a High Transmission Level for new cases of COVID-19. So it is recommended that everyone – despite vaccination – should wear a mask when indoors. About 52-percent of U.S. counties are currently in the High Level of Transmission.
‘’We are encouraging our community to get vaccinated, to get tested, to stay home when they are sick, and to wear face masks,’’ said Toole in a news release. ‘’Vaccination is the path out of this pandemic,’’ he added.
Toole notes the Delta Variant is more contagious than other strains and has an increased reproduction rate. Unfortunately, since the majority of the population is still not vaccinated, herd immunity cannot be reached to bring the reproduction rate closer to zero, said Toole. He added the vaccine is definitely working.
‘’While we have some breakthrough cases, the majority of the new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have been unvaccinated. The ones that have been vaccinated and tested positive for COVID-19 have generally had mild symptoms,’’ he added.
Symptoms for the Delta Variant have been a little different than previous strains – mainly the loss of taste and smell is not prevalent as it was with the other strains. Most other symptoms are the same, but there has also been an increase in those just reporting a runny nose.
There has been some evidence that those who are vaccinated who have the Delta Variant can spread it to others. This is still early in the studies and has been minimal. There have been a total of 16 known Delta Variant cases in Vermilion County, and all were unvaccinated.
The Vermilion County Health Department (located at 200 South College Street in Danville), will be offering SHIELD ILLINOIS SALIVA COVID-19 testing every Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The testing is free and is a PCR Test. You do not need to have symptoms to get this free test, but please do not eat or drink (except for water) for at least an hour prior to the test.
The Vermilion County Health Department also offers vaccination clinics. See their website at www.vchd.org or call 217-431-2662 ext. 249 to make an appointment.
