Huntington Hospital Infectious Disease Expert Urges Vaccination To Fend Off Delta Variant

Dr. Kimberly Shriner, an infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital, is urging people to get vaccinated as soon as possible amid the threat of the new COVID-19 variant called Delta.

Although the Delta variant has been detected in Los Angeles County, a city spokesperson said Wednesday no cases have as yet been detected in Pasadena.

Founder and director of Huntington’s Phil Simon Clinic, Shriner said unvaccinated individuals should continue wearing masks since they are at very high risk of contracting the new coronavirus variant.

In a video posted online, Shriner said the new Delta variant is a “very aggressive and very severe form of COVID-19,” and the only protection against it is to be vaccinated.

She stressed the vaccines are effective and safe, and they are likely to protect people from even the most severe forms of COVID-19.

“So please, there is some urgency in this right now,” Shriner said in the video. “We are enjoying a nice summer. We want the fall to be equally safe so that we can finally have some nice holidays with our families. If you are not vaccinated, please seriously consider getting vaccinated, but if you remain unvaccinated, then please wear a mask when you are around individuals who you don’t know their vaccine status.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday said Delta, first identified in India, has the potential “to be more lethal because it’s more efficient in the way it transmits between humans.”

“It will eventually find those vulnerable individuals who will become severely ill, have to be hospitalized and potentially die,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said during a news conference Monday.

Huntington Hospital’s Phil Simon Clinic provides complete HIV and infectious disease care for the underserved in the San Gabriel Valley.

In 2001, Shriner founded The Phil Simon Clinic Tanzania Project, a nonprofit global outreach program in East Africa.