At least 11 employees of a Las Vegas hospital were infected with COVID-19 after attending a June party, according to emails from public health officials shared with the Review-Journal.
The cluster of cases affected vaccinated employees of Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, according to emails from the Southern Nevada Health District shared with the Review-Journal.
Eight of the employees were fully vaccinated in December and January, and two had been partially vaccinated with one dose, according to the emails. One infected employee was unvaccinated, and at least 10 of the 11 employees were infected with the delta variant.
In a statement shared with Becker's, Sunrise CEO Todd Sklamberg cited an off-site private party on June 7 as the source of the outbreak. He said all the workers who tested positive are doing well and have returned to their jobs.
"Although all were vaccinated, we want to acknowledge our colleagues recognized their own symptoms [similar to allergies or the common cold] and chose to get tested," Mr. Sklamberg wrote. "There were no exposures to our patients, as our staff complies with all PPE guidelines, masking at all times and wearing face shields with all patient encounters."
The Review-Journal reported that the health district also cited exposure outside work as the source of the outbreak, and it has closed its probe into the cases.
The delta variant, first identified in India, has been a particular concern because of the pace of its spread. Mounting evidence suggests the variant spreads about 225 percent faster than the original virus.