Story at a glance
- Vivek said he was concerned the plateauing of cases nationally and increases in small parts of the U.S. were being driven by the variant.
- “The good news is if you are vaccinated, and fully vaccinated means two weeks after your last shot, then there is good evidence that you have a high degree of protection against this virus,” he said.
- “But if you are not vaccinated, then you are in trouble. This is a serious threat,” he added.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is warning unvaccinated Americans about the significantly more contagious delta variant of COVID-19 that is spreading across the country.
During an interview with CNN’s “New Day” Wednesday, Vivek said he was concerned the plateauing of cases nationally and increases in small parts of the U.S. were being driven by the variant.
“We’ve learned that this virus, this variant of COVID-19, is highly transmissible, the most transmissible that we’ve seen to date,” he told CNN.
“The good news is if you are vaccinated, and fully vaccinated means two weeks after your last shot, then there is good evidence that you have a high degree of protection against this virus,” he said.
“But if you are not vaccinated, then you are in trouble. This is a serious threat,” he added.
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“I am worried that what we are seeing in terms of a plateauing of cases nationally — but also an increase in cases in many small sections of the United States — that that is, in fact, being driven by the Delta variant,” US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy says. pic.twitter.com/GgppTYoBkE
— New Day (@NewDay) June 30, 2021
Murthy said health officials are seeing the variant spread among unvaccinated people. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the more contagious strain has reached nearly every state and accounts for about 26 percent of COVID-19 cases.
Health experts are concerned areas of the U.S. with low vaccination rates could have localized spikes due to the variant.
Los Angeles County health officials recently recommended residents continue to wear masks indoors in public as a precaution due to the rise of the variant, and the World Health Organization issued similar recommendations.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, however, said those who are vaccinated are safe from current variants and do not need to wear masks.
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