In a story filed Aug. 3, 2021, by WBTV’s Paige Pauroso, Tryon’s Dr. Ryan Shelton talked about the spread of the highly contagious Delta COVID-19 variant and new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on how vaccinated individuals should handle exposure to the virus. Excerpts from the story are below; read the whole story on WBTV’s website.
If you are a Tryon patient and you are exposed to COVID-19, you can be tested at our newly opened satellite testing location outside our Pineville office. Call your regular Tryon office to schedule an appointment, or click here to learn more.
The CDC updated its guidelines about who needs to get tested or quarantine if you are exposed to someone with COVID and the new guidance applies to those who are fully vaccinated.
The CDC says if you are fully vaccinated and come into contact with someone who has tested positive or is experiencing symptoms, you need to get tested 3-5 days after exposure. They also say you need to wear a mask for 14 days or until you receive a negative test result.
But you might ask yourself, why do you need to get tested if you have the vaccine? There’s a small chance you can get COVID after being vaccinated. Those cases are called breakthrough cases.
Since the pandemic, there have been nearly 7,297 potential breakthrough cases in North Carolina, resulting in 383 hospitalizations and 66 deaths nationwide.
But still, doctors say the best way to protect yourself is to get the vaccine. In North Carolina, 92 percent of cases and 94 percent of deaths since the beginning of May are people who aren’t vaccinated.
“I really think if we had more vaccinated people it would have been less of an issue. In a way, us as a society, collectively, it’s our fault,” said Dr. Ryan Shelton, with Tryon Medical Partners. “Delta variant is really picking up. And unfortunately, it spreads even easier than the previous predominant strains of COVID-19.”