Delta variant remains a concern despite omicron variant discovery

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Despite the omicron variant being an area of interest, health officials say the delta variant remains a concern.

Here in the state of Missouri, there has been one case of the omicron variant reported but the highly contagious delta variant remains the dominant strain.

Dr. Robin Blount with Boone Health says the delta variant is responsible for the new cases in Missouri.

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, there have been 13,991 cases reported in Missouri in the past seven days. That breaks down to a daily average of about 2,000 cases.

Dr. Blount says, "Honestly here at Boone Health we have tripled the number of inpatients that have COVID over the course, beginning of this week."

While the omicron variant has been reported in at least 19 states, the understanding of it remains limited. Scientists say more research and time are needed to determine the severity of the variant.

According to the Sewershed Surveillance Project that tests the presence of variants by testing samples of sewer systems around Missouri, the date from the projects variant dashboard presents data that the delta variant is the main variant here in Missouri.

"The reality is that delta is what the problem is right now here in the United States and here in Missouri," Dr. Blount said.

The state is currently showing a 12.8% positivity rate, which is in the red zone and up to half a percent since last week.

Hospitalizations are also up, there are currently 1,627 people in Missouri hospitals with COVID-19.

Health officials say with the holidays just a few weeks away, people should get their shot of the COVID-19 vaccine if they haven't.