Update 8-6-2021: We are currently doubling our numbers every 1 1/2 weeks. We had 784 new cases in the last week. Up from 476 the week before. Cases increased 65% over last week.

Update 7-23-21: We had over 300 new cases this week. This is an increase of 75% over last week. At this rate, we will exceed the number of new cases when we went into lockdown within a few days.

Update 7-16-21: Cases more than doubled from last week. All of our progress from the last month is gone. I was expecting cases to be under 120 for this week and they are at 171 for the week. This represents an increase of 108.5% over the week before. If you go out, even if you are vaccinated, I would recommend staying masked.

Update 7-9-21 Cases have resumed their downward trend in Cuyahoga County. They are down 39.7% over last week. Part of it is because of the long weekend and probably some underreporting, but it’s down so much that I believe at least part of it is real. I do expect it to be short-lived and to have another increase next week or the week after, but I’m not too concerned especially if the cases can stay under 120 for the week. If we can stay under 100 cases next week, I will be encouraged, especially after the holiday weekend. 

New cases in Cuyahoga County have increased 8% over the last week ^[1]. This is the first time that I’ve seen an increase in cases since I started my weekly tracking a little over 6 weeks ago. I was hoping that the cases would take longer to slow and that they wouldn’t increase until the fall. The Delta variant is now making up more than 25% ^[2] of all new cases in the US. 

The Delta Variant is a super-spreading variant that has devastated India ^[3].  It is 60% more transmissible ^[2] than the Alpha variant that is currently still the dominant variant in the USA. The Alpha variant is 50% more transmissible than the original variant. A recent study showed that the people infected with the Delta variant were 50% more likely ^[4] to need to be hospitalized compared to the Alpha variant.

All three vaccines in the US seem to be very effective against this new variant ^[5]. At a recent super-spreader event in Australia, everyone except the vaccinated people in attendance got sick with the Delta variant ^[6].

Common symptoms from the Delta variant are sore throat, runny nose, and fever. Coughing and loss of smell are not as common as with other variants ^[4].

While there are reports of new dangers with the vaccines ^[7], I still believe that the risk of vaccine side effects is significantly less than the side effects from Covid-19. We have more than 150 million people who are fully vaccinated ^[8] with less than 30 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 ^[9]. 

If you suspect that you may have had Covid, but are not sure, and you are unvaccinated,  I’m recommending getting an anti-body test. Unfortunately, the Red Cross has discontinued its anti-body testing ^[10]. You can still get it through Lab-Corp ^[11] for $10 with insurance and under $60 without. 

If you haven’t had Covid-19 yet and continue to choose not to be vaccinated, please be smart and careful this holiday weekend. 

Even with the rise in cases this past week, we are still sticking to our recently relaxed Covid protocols ^[12].

PDF of the article is here.  ^[13]