Story at a glance
- White House chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci warned Tuesday that vaccination disparities combined with the spread of the delta coronavirus variant could lead to the emergence of “two Americas.”
- “When you have such a low level of vaccination superimposed upon a variant that has a high degree of efficiency of spread, what you are going to see among undervaccinated regions — be that states, cities or counties — you’re going to see these individual types of blips.”
- Experts have argued that there appears to be a direct correlation between the number of vaccinations in a particular region and the number of new cases.
White House chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci warned Tuesday that vaccination disparities combined with the spread of the delta coronavirus variant could lead to the emergence of “two Americas.”
“When you have such a low level of vaccination superimposed upon a variant that has a high degree of efficiency of spread, what you are going to see among undervaccinated regions — be that states, cities or counties — you’re going to see these individual types of blips,” Fauci told CNN.
“It’s almost like it’s going to be two Americas,” the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases said, adding that he thinks it is “entirely avoidable, entirely preventable” with vaccinations.
Experts, including former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, have argued that there appears to be a direct correlation between the number of vaccinations in a particular region and the number of new cases.
Meanwhile, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy echoed Fauci’s concerns on CNN Wednesday. Murthy warned that the delta variant is the “most transmissible” experts have “seen to date.” But he maintained that vaccinations could offer protection against potential infection.
“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,” Murthy said.
“But if you are not vaccinated, then you are in trouble. This is a serious threat,” he added.
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Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the delta variant accounts for roughly 26 percent of new cases in the U.S. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that the variant first discovered in India is becoming the dominant variant worldwide.
“This particular delta variant is faster, it is fitter, it will pick off the more vulnerable more efficiently than previous variants, and therefore if there are people left without vaccination, they remain even at further risk,” Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said during a news conference June 21.
CDC data reveals more than 66 percent of U.S. adults have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 46.4 percent of the total population has been fully vaccinated.
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