“This outbreak is brewing”: Fauci warns of dangers of insufficient numbers vaccinated

As coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths again tend to increase in the United States, White House medical adviser Dr.Anthony Fauci has issued a stern warning regarding the threat posed by a substantial percentage of the unvaccinated population.

“If we don’t vaccinate a significant proportion of these recalcitrant people, you’re going to see a smoldering epidemic in our country for a considerable period of time,” the country’s top infectious disease expert told CNN’s Kate Bolduan. Monday.

Fauci’s comments add to a growing chorus of officials warning that vaccine reluctance has led to a recent spike in coronavirus cases. CDC director Rochelle Walensky said last week the country was grappling with an “unvaccinated pandemic,” and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy expressed similar concerns.

“I think when the vaccines are fully approved with full license, although there is no doubt that they are now very effective and very safe – I think when this official imprimatur does occur, with full approval, you will see more people get vaccinated, ”Fauci said.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that just over 68% of adults have received at least one injection. But the Delta variant continues to spread rapidly, severely hitting states with low vaccination rates like Arkansas and Utah.

Among those unvaccinated, Fauci said an increase in hospitalizations due to serious illness – and in some cases, death – we can wait each other due to the highly contagious variant. He added that several studies have shown that vaccines “always protect 90% or more very well” against such results.

“In some parts of the country, up to 90% of the variants are the Delta variant,” Fauci told PBS’s Judy Woodruff on Monday. “So he has already shown his incredible ability to be able to be transmitted effectively from person to person, which makes him very dangerous.”

CDC director Rochelle Walensky said on Friday that unvaccinated people accounted for more than 97% of new hospitalizations due to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the seven-day average of new cases has increased by nearly 70%, according to data from the national health protection agency.

In recent weeks, soaring rates have prompted governors to demand that people get vaccinated – even as some Republican lawmakers in their states are downplaying the risk of the virus and passing legislation restricting or banning vaccination warrants and passports. .

“The political differences are totally understandable and are a natural part of the process in any country,” Fauci told CNN. “But when it comes to a public health issue, where you are in the middle of a deadly pandemic and the common enemy is the virus, it just doesn’t make sense to ignore or not to pay attention to the obvious. “

Reluctance and resistance to vaccines, spurred by disinformation campaigns on social media and the word of some elected officials, emerged as a point of contention in the White House on Friday, with President Biden assessing that platforms like Facebook are “killing people people “for allowing lies and gunfire conspiracy theories to remain on their platforms.

Fauci addressed the issue over the weekend, telling CNN’s Jim Acosta he believed polio and smallpox would still be circulating in the country if “we had the kind of false information that is spreading now.”

Of mask warrants making a comeback and calls from experts to prepare for the possibility of having to wear face coverings again – two months after the CDC said people vaccinated could do without them in the Most contexts – Fauci told PBS NewsHour on Monday that people should “pay attention to what is going on in the area where you live”.

“So if you live in an area with high infection dynamics – and that’s usually an area with low immunization levels – if you live in that area, you might want to go the extra mile. . and get the added level of protection of wearing a mask, even if you are vaccinated, for a number of reasons, to protect yourself, ”he said.

But without enough people vaccinated, returning to “normalcy” and regaining full control of the virus will be an almost impossible task, Fauci said.

“The only way to crush this virus is to vaccinate an overwhelming proportion of the population,” he said. “And we’re not there yet. But we have to get there if we are to get this under control. “

Shannon Larson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ shannonlarson98.