Delta Variant Dominant In Marin

MARIN COUNTY, CA — The new coronavirus variant first discovered in India is now dominant in Marin County, but it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere in the nation’s most vaccinated region.

The delta variant, which Dr. Anthony Fauci earlier this week called “a variant of concern,” is more infectious and virulent than the original coronavirus strain responsible for some 600,000 deaths in the United States.

The delta variant has been linked to outbreaks in the neighboring towns of Fairfax and San Anselmo and at a Novato school, county officials said Tuesday.

Both outbreaks were contained within 14 days, county officials said, underscoring the extent to which Marin has achieved a significant level of herd immunity.

The nation's most vaccinated county has vaccinated more than 90 percent of its eligible residents according to its coronavirus vaccine dashboard.

As of Thursday afternoon, 90.3 percent of county's eligible population 12 years of age and older have received at least one does of the vaccine and 82.2 percent have completed their vaccine series.

“When clusters of cases rise and fall quickly among unvaccinated people, and don’t really spread further, this is what herd immunity looks like,” Marin County Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis said.

“We’re seeing what community immunity could look like in Marin. The current cases are among unvaccinated residents, which is why we’re motivated to get closer to 100 percent.”