At this point, every COVID-19 variant of concern has been detected in Erie County, but the good news is, U.S. vaccines protect against all the variants that are circulating.

Medical officials at the University at Buffalo say more than 90% of cases analyzed in April in Western New York were variants of concern.

These are mutations of the virus that are more easily transmitted, which cause more severe disease, and won't respond as well to antibody treatments.

UB officials say that if you are not vaccinated, you are at significantly higher risk and should wear a mask and avoid traveling to places with high rates of infection.

“I think the original version of the SARS COVID virus is gone. I don't think it really exists anymore and we're really looking at a different landscape of the virus going forward. While the science is clear vaccination protects us very well against all of these variants, it does concern me that people that are not vaccinated take this opportunity to stop masking,” Jennifer Surtees, UB Jacobs School Biochemistry associate professor, said.

UB medical officials say they are also finding differences region to region.

Some variants tend to be more prominent in certain areas. However, locally and nationwide, the number of COVID-19 cases is plummeting.