The COVID-19 Delta variant could already be active in the Rio Grande Valley, said Hidalgo County Health Authority Dr. Ivan Melendez, citing an increase in vaccinated people ending up in the hospital. 

"We’ve had people who are being admitted into the hospital with breakthrough infections," Melendez said. "Vaccinated and still [getting] admitted to the hospital. It’s very unusual, and we believe that it’s due to the variants." 

Melendez said county officials are ready to work with the state to begin testing all hospitalized patients for the Delta strain. 

Currently, only state labs are testing for COVID-19 variants, Melendez said, adding that Hidalgo County has begun sending samples to those labs, but results take several weeks. 

As of Monday, there are zero confirmed cases of the Delta variant in the Valley. 

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