COVID-19 numbers in Austin continue to decline

Researchers are attributing the low numbers to people taking extra precautions to be safe and getting vaccinated.

AUSTIN, Texas - COVID-19 cases in Austin continue to steadily decline despite a few cases of the new Delta Variant popping up in Williamson County. Researchers are attributing the low numbers to people taking extra precautions to be safe and getting vaccinated.

"Right now, we're estimating about half the mortality in Austin per capita compared to many comparable major cities in the state so I think we should be really proud of that as a community," said Spencer Fox, Associate Director of the UT COVID-19 Modeling Consortium

Fox says Austin’s decline in COVID-19 cases has to do with a few things: "In general people continuing to take precautions like wearing masks and socially distancing while out, and then combined with the really rapid vaccine rollout and buildup of immunity in our community."

Fox says he expects the downward trend to continue taking precautions and getting their COVID vaccine.

"There's a lot of reasons to be optimistic about what our city has in store over the next few months. As vaccinations continue to roll out, we'll just continue to see greater numbers of immunity, our population will, which will protect us from future spread," said Fox.

With a new variant in Central Texas, Fox says they will be keeping a close eye on the Delta Variant.

"What we're thinking about right now over the next few months is what impacts the variants, the Delta variant specifically, might have on transmission in our community over the next few months," he said.

Williamson County has already reported three cases of the Delta Variant as of Friday. None of those people were vaccinated.

3 cases of COVID-19 Delta variant confirmed in Williamson County

The proportion of cases is growing quickly and is estimated to be the dominant strain in the U.S. as early as August.

Officials say this variant can be transferred easier than the current variant, but it is unknown yet if it is more harmful. However, if you are vaccinated this will have little effect on you according to WILCO’s lead epidemiologist.

"The people that are fully vaccinated really don't have much to worry about because they are protected against severe disease, hospitalizations, and deaths, especially with the Delta Variant as well," said Allison Stewart, Lead Epidemiologist for Williamson County.

Fox says Austin has not reached total herd immunity, but when precautions taken by citizens and vaccination rates are factored in, he says we have reached some level of transient herd immunity.

___

MORE HEADLINES:

APH partners with community for weekend vaccination pop-up clinics
US COVID-19 deaths: Most who died recently were unvaccinated, data shows
Delta variant: What to know about the spreading coronavirus strain

___
DOWNLOAD: FOX 7 AUSTIN NEWS APP
SUBSCRIBE: FOX 7 Austin Daily Newsletter | FOX 7 Austin on YouTube
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter