PEKIN, Ill. — Reditus Labs in Pekin has identified two additional cases of the B.1.167.2 variant of COVID-19, also known as the Delta variant.
The variant was first identified in India, carries 13 mutations and is believed to be more transmissible than previous strains.
The two cases of the variant were identified during a sequencing run of 369 randomly selected positive tests on June 17.
“There is concern as to whether the vaccines are as effective against the Delta variant,” said Reditus CEO Dr. Aaron Rossi.
Dr. Anthony Fauci earlier Tuesday said the variant was the greatest threat to the U.S. pandemic response, but also added vaccines are considered effective against the new strain.
Of the two samples that included the Delta variant, one person lives in central Illinois and one lives in Michigan.
Rossi said his goal in sharing the latest sequencing information is to keep the public aware of the spreading variants.
