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Washington – Dr Scott Gottlieb, former head of the Food and Drug Administration, warned on Sunday that for Americans unvaccinated and infected with the Delta variant, the virus will be the “most serious” they catch in their lifetime.
“This virus is so contagious, this variant is so contagious that it will infect the majority – that most people will either be vaccinated or have already been infected or they will get this Delta variant,” Gottlieb said in an interview on “Face the Nation. ” “And for most people who get this Delta variant, it will be the most serious virus they get in their lifetime in terms of their risk of putting them in the hospital.”
The Delta variant fueled a rise of coronavirus cases, the number of new infections is increasing in all 50 states. Hospitalizations are also up 36% and deaths are up 26%. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky said on Friday that “this is becoming an unvaccinated pandemic” because almost everyone hospitalized with COVID-19 has not been vaccinated.
Even as the number of coronavirus cases increases, Gottlieb said the United States likely underestimates infections because Americans who are younger and healthier, or those who are asymptomatic or have mild cases, may not be not get tested for COVID-19.
“We don’t do a lot of routine screening right now,” he said. “Unless you work for the New York Yankees, you don’t get tested regularly. So I think this Delta Wave could be way further ahead than what we’re currently detecting in our determination.”
Gottlieb estimated that the United States catches about 1 in 10 or 1 in 20 infections, and that those who get tested for COVID-19 are either sicker or have “telltale” symptoms of the coronavirus, such as loss of life. taste or smell.
To mitigate the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, parts of the country have reimposed mask mandates for unvaccinated and vaccinated indoors. But Gottlieb said that to protect against the variant, it’s important that people invest in high-quality face covers, such as N95 masks.
“The quality of the mask is going to make a difference with a variant that spreads more aggressively like Delta does, where people are more contagious and give off more viruses,” he said. is really epidemic, I think it’s going to be important, even in cases where they are vaccinated, if they want to add another layer of protection. “
As the number of new coronavirus cases rises and vaccination rates flatten, the Biden administration has issued warnings about misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines that have proliferated on social media, which Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called it a “serious threat to public health”.
Gottlieb said the most “pervasive” misinformation related to the vaccine is that it will impact fertility, which he says discourages many young women from getting the vaccine.
But Gottlieb, it’s not the vaccines, but contracting COVID-19 during pregnancy that can be dangerous.
“I think every pregnant woman or mother-to-be should talk to their doctor about the possibility of getting the vaccine,” he said.
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