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- COVID-19 outbreaks create opportunities for the emergence of new variants, a former CDC official said.
- “That’s what happened” with the Delta variant, said Richard Besser on NBC News’ “Today” show.
- The Delta variant is now responsible for more than 80% of coronavirus cases in the United States.
Large COVID-19 outbreaks create opportunities for the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus, a former Center for Disease Control and Prevention official said on Monday.
“As long as there is widespread transmission of the virus, there is the possibility that new variants will emerge,” former CDC acting director Richard Besser said in an interview with “Today”. “from NBC News as he explained” this is what happened “with the highly transmissible Delta Variant of the coronavirus.
Besser added: “Fortunately, it is covered by current vaccines, but there is no guarantee that the next variant that emerges will not be the one for which vaccines are not effective. “
Cases of the coronavirus, fueled by the Delta variant, have increased in the United States and around the world, largely among those who are not vaccinated.
Read more: Internal CDC document warns ‘war has changed’ with more infectious Delta variant
The Delta variant is now responsible for more than 80% of coronavirus cases in the United States.
“We cannot abandon people who so far have not been vaccinated. We have to meet people where they are, address their concerns and help them roll up their sleeves to get vaccinated,” said Besser.
He noted: “Most of the transmissions we see come from unvaccinated people.”
CDC director Rochelle Walensky said last week that the coronavirus could be “a few potentially distant mutations” from evolving to a variant that can escape existing COVID-19 vaccines.
And according to a recent CDC study, vaccinated people can transmit the Delta variant just as easily as unvaccinated people, although the chances of a vaccinated person contracting the virus are low.
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