Jacobs School Scientists Find Delta Variant in Erie County

First identified in India and now responsible for a significant outbreak in the United Kingdom, the delta variant is believed to be as much as 200 percent — or twice as transmissible — as the original coronavirus strain.

That information, coming as more COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted now that 70 percent of New York State’s population over the age of 18 has had at least one vaccine dose, is concerning to Jacobs School scientists and Erie County public health officials.

They stress that the finding of the delta variant in Western New York reinforces the critical importance of getting fully vaccinated (with both doses) as soon as possible for those eligible to do so because, they note, the vaccines thus far have been shown to effectively protect people against the variants and provide a higher level of protection than natural immunity.   

Individuals who are unvaccinated, or who are immunocompromised because of a medical condition, are cautioned to continue to wear masks in public settings.  

“The highly transmissible delta variant is a real concern,” says Jennifer A. Surtees, PhD, co-director of UB’s Genome, Environment and Microbiome Community of Excellence and associate professor of biochemistry.

Surtees and her colleagues at UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences have been conducting the only genomic sequencing of COVID-19 samples in Western New York.

She notes that early evidence from the United Kingdom demonstrates that most likely two doses of the Pfizer shot are 90 percent effective against the delta variant, but a single vaccination dose of Pfizer vaccine is only 30 percent effective.

“This is particularly an issue for those individuals who are not vaccinated or are under vaccinated [one shot]. These people, including children, are really at risk as this variant circulates,” Surtees says. “This makes me concerned about schools in particular. We’ve already seen an increase in cases among children — they are the big unvaccinated pool. The delta variant could exacerbate this.”

So far, only one Erie County sample had the delta variant, but that sample was taken in May.

“I would predict we will see more of it in more recent samples,” Surtees says. “The good news is that case rates in the region are quite low, a direct result of vaccination uptake. This is cause for some optimism about what summer will be like in Western New York. But there are still folks who are not vaccinated, or are not fully vaccinated who are extremely vulnerable to this variant. The second dose is extremely important for protection against delta.”

She adds that the delta variant is more prevalent in the southern U.S., primarily regions with lower vaccination rates. 

“This is something to keep in mind when thinking about travel to different parts of the country,” Surtees cautions.

And while the delta variant is currently in the news, she added that the alpha variant, which emerged late last year and became known as the U.K. variant, which is about 40 percent more transmissible than the original virus strain, is now the most prevalent strain in Erie County.

“The alpha variant became predominant in Western New York,” says Erie County Commissioner of Health Gale R. Burstein, MD, a clinical professor of pediatrics. “These findings from our colleagues at UB reinforce the continued importance of getting vaccinated to protect yourself and, ultimately, the community from severe illness, and of getting a diagnostic test immediately if you develop any COVID-19 symptoms.”

Surtees and her colleagues at UB will continue to conduct genomic sequencing on COVID-19 samples, which Burstein called one of several key factors in keeping rates of the virus low in Western New York.

“With continued spread within the U.S. and globally, there is always the possibility of further mutations that will make the virus better able to evade vaccine-induced immune responses and antibody treatments,” Surtees says.