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The latest news about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 in Montana.

Delta Variant Present In Over 90% Of Recent Screened COVID Tests, Montana Officials Say

With new infections rising around the country due to the delta variant, reports of breakthrough cases among the fully vaccinated can be worrisome.
Mario Tama
/
MTPR
With new infections rising around the country due to the delta variant, reports of breakthrough cases among the fully vaccinated can be worrisome.

Montana state health officials say the delta strain of the coronavirus accounts for nearly every recent COVID-19 test screened for variants in the state.

According to the state health department’s latest COVID-19 variant monitoring report, the delta strain accounted for more than 90% of all COVID tests the state analyzed last week. That trend has continued so far this week.

Limited data is available in Montana on patient outcomes among those infected with various strains of the coronavirus, but national data suggest the delta variant is more than two times as contagious as the original strain and might cause more severe illness than previous strains among the unvaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fully vaccinated people can spread the virus; however, they appear to be infectious for a shorter period. Under 1% of fully-vaccinated people in Montana have become infected with COVID-19, which are known as breakthrough cases. Nearly all breakthrough cases in Montana that have been screened were people infected with a variant.

Aaron graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Journalism in 2015 after interning at Minnesota Public Radio. He landed his first reporting gig in Wrangell, Alaska where he enjoyed the remote Alaskan lifestyle and eventually moved back to the road system as the KBBI News Director in Homer, Alaska. He joined the MTPR team in 2019. Aaron now reports on all things in northwest Montana and statewide health care.
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