He s baaaack.
Natrona County Health Officer Dr. Mark Dowell has put out a new video in which he discusses the Delta Variant of the coronavirus, the contagion level, and why those who are not vaccinated need to be.
Get our free mobile app The Delta Variant is real, Dr. Dowell stated. It s more contagious than any other COVID-19 strain we ve seen so far, but probably not more aggressive in terms of hospitalizations or deaths.
Dr. Dowell stated that the Delta Variant is responsible for most all of the new cases of COVID-19 in the United States right now, and he also said that he believes more variants will make their way into the country as well.
25 percent of the population in Natrona County has been vaccinated, and of the 18-and-older group, only 29 percent [has been vaccinated], according to Natrona County Health Officer Dr. Mark Dowell. That s why Natrona County made the New York Times as one of the least vaccinated counties in the United States.
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Dr. Dowell returned to YouTube on Wednesday to offer some statistics about the current state of the county when it comes to COVID-19. As a group, as a family in Natrona County and across the state of Wyoming, we can do much better, Dowell said. You want to avoid the variance, you want to have summer beautiful, you want to cut down hospitalizations and you want to have a good fall and winter, it s sitting right in front of you.
WATCH: Dr. Dowell on the COVID Vaccine- Do the Right Thing
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Dowell began by stating that hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are down across the state, but especially in Natrona County. Our ICU has few, if no patients with COVID right now, due to the community masking and doing their job, he stated. For that, he added, I applaud you completely.
Dr. Dowell then spoke on the news of different variants of COVID-19 that have recently become public.
Dowell stated that the virus is mutating, or changing itself, in order to survive. He said this happens with many viruses and, in the case of coronavirus, the result is that it is becoming more transmissible. This means that it s easier to catch and it s easier to pass on to others. He emphasized that this is even more of a reason to wear masks, wash hands, and socially distance.
I am sure, he said in a video posted to Facebook.
Enter your number to get our free mobile app It shows that it works, it shows that it can save lives and it needs to continue until we can get a lot of the population vaccinated, he added. It s incredibly exciting and I want to thank the entire community for stepping up and doing this.
Dowell added that residents can t let their guard down. There s no better evidence that masking is working, he said.
Last week, bars in Wyoming began closing at 10 p.m. under a separate health order.