INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The Delta variant of the coronavirus claimed its first life Thursday in Washoe County and is also proving to be contagious even to the fully vaccinated.

The Regional Information Center said the deceased female was in her 40s and she had no underlying health conditions.

The center also reported 34 new cases pushing the total cases of the Delta Variant to 51.

There have been 685 COVID-19-related deaths in Washoe County since March 2020.

The center said that most of the Delta variant cases are occurring in unvaccinated individuals and all of the hospitalized cases have been unvaccinated.

Of the 51 Delta variant cases confirmed to date, nine were considered fully vaccinated, which means it had been two or more weeks since they received the second dose of Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or the one-dose Janssen.

A majority of the Delta variant cases had symptoms of COVID-19, including cough, fever, shortness of breath, congestion, headache and other allergy-like symptoms.

“If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19, we strongly encourage you to stay home from work or school to isolate and get a COVID-19 test with the Health District,” said Washoe County District Health Officer Kevin Dick. “The Delta variant has become the most common COVID-19 variant in the county over the last two weeks and is extremely contagious. The COVID-19 vaccine provides the best protection to you and others around you. We strongly encourage all who can to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Those who are not yet fully vaccinated should continue to wear masks in public to protect themselves and others.”

According to the Nevada State Public Health Lab, among samples collected June 1-25, the Delta variant was the most common. NSPHL reported 39% of samples sequenced during that time frame were the Delta variant while 34% were the B.1.1.7, the Alpha variant that originated in the United Kingdom. The first Delta case was confirmed in Washoe County on June 15.

Here is a list of known confirmed COVID-19 variants of concern in Washoe County since the beginning of 2021:

258 B.1.1.7 (Originated in UK/Alpha)

51 B.1.617.2 (India/Delta)

*10 B.1.417/B.1.429 (California/Epsilon – now a “variant of interest” according to the CDC and not a “variant of concern”)

7 B.1.526 (Iota) and B.1.526.1 (NY)

4 B.1.617.1 (India/Kappa)

2 B.1.1.318 (has a E484K spike protein substitution)

2 B.1.351 (South Africa/Beta)

1 P.1 (Brazil/Gamma)

1 P.2 (Brazil/Zeta)

According to the CDC, one in four cases now are reported as the Delta variant nationwide. The Delta variant appears to be infecting people who are young and not vaccinated.

The COVID-19 vaccine improves protection against the new Delta variant.

To learn about vaccines and to get vaccinated, visit here.