US going ‘in wrong direction’ as COVID cases rise: Fauci
Recent rise in infections is particularly among the unvaccinated, says Dr Anthony Fauci, who urged people to get jabs.
Top US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has said the United States is moving “in the wrong direction” in its battle against the coronavirus, as the country has seen a recent rise in infections particularly in states with low vaccination rates.
In an interview on CNN’s State of the Union programme on Sunday, Fauci said many vulnerable people across the US remain unvaccinated – and they are the ones who are spurring the increase in COVID-19 cases.
“We’re going in the wrong direction,” Fauci said.
“If you look at the inflection of the curve of new infections… it is among the unvaccinated and since we have 50 percent of the country is not fully vaccinated, that’s a problem – particularly when you have a variant like Delta which has this extraordinary characteristic of being able to spread very efficiently and very easily from person to person.”
Coronavirus vaccines are widely available across the US, and just less than 60 percent of adults are fully vaccinated with 68.8 percent of adults having received at least one dose, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.
But millions of people have not been vaccinated, and the administration of US President Joe Biden is urging Americans to get their jabs – especially in states where cases have risen in recent weeks.
The sharpest increases in COVID-19 infections are in places with lower vaccination rates. Florida, Texas and Missouri account for 40 percent of all new cases nationwide, with about one in five of all new cases occurring in Florida, White House adviser Jeffrey Zients said last week.
“If you are vaccinated, the vaccine is highly protective against the Delta variant, particularly against severe disease leading to hospitalisation and sometimes ultimately to death,” Fauci said on Sunday.
“It’s really an outbreak among the unvaccinated … which is the reason why we’re out there practically pleading with the unvaccinated people to go out and get vaccinated.”
Fauci said recommending that the vaccinated wear masks is “under active consideration” by the government’s leading public health officials, while booster shots may be suggested for people with suppressed immune systems who have been vaccinated.
Fauci, who also serves as Biden’s chief medical adviser, said he has taken part in conversations about altering the mask guidelines.
He noted that some local jurisdictions where infection rates are surging, such as Los Angeles County, are already calling on individuals to wear masks in public regardless of vaccination status, a step that he said was in line with CDC recommendations.
The top public health official in Washington state’s most populous county, Dr Jeff Duchin, on Friday also asked everyone to wear masks in indoor public spaces – even if they are vaccinated – due to the rise of the Delta variant.
![Just less than 60 percent of US adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 while 68.8 percent of adults have received at least one dose, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, but millions remain unvaccinated [Karen Pulfer Focht/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-07-22T183105Z_972210054_RC2UPO9XW97I_RTRMADP_3_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-USA-VACCINES.jpg?resize=770%2C513)
![The Tokyo 2020 Olympics Opening Ceremony officially kicks off the international sporting event. [Leonhard Foeger/Reuters] (Reuters)](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-07-23T113754Z_1147790720_SP1EH7N0W46JJ_RTRMADP_3_OLYMPICS-2020-CEREMONY-OPENING.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
![A woman receives a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine during a mass vaccination in Mexico City [File: Edgard Garrido/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-07-06T201637Z_962122432_RC21FO9R5UJY_RTRMADP_3_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-MEXICO-VACCINE.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
![The study called Pitch might help inform vaccination strategies against the Delta variant [File: Carlos Osorio/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/2021-05-10_BIONTECH-RESULTS.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
![A protester holds a placard that reads "Freedom" during a demonstration against COVID restrictions [Benoit Tessier/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Franceprotest.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
![A girl wearing a protective mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic sells slippers at an open-air market in the city of Raqqa in Syria [File: Delil Souleimani/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/000_93Z29Y.jpg?resize=170%2C113)
![Pro-democracy activists and human rights groups have also criticised the decision to deny Tong bail and a jury trial, which have been key features of Hong Kong's rule of law [File: Isaac Lawrence/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/000_9GL3UH.jpg?resize=170%2C113)
![Misenga is one of two members of the team that won a heat or contest at Rio 2016 [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/10.jpg?resize=170%2C113)
![Alassane Ouattara (left) and Laurent Gbagbo [File: AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/000_9FL22G.jpg?resize=170%2C113)
![Bitcoin's current price volatility is part of a wider multi-wave correction [File: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/375221515.jpg?resize=170%2C113)
![A combination of pictures created on July 7, 2021 shows (L to R) Taliban deputy negotiator Abbas Stanikzai during the Intra-Afghan Dialogue talks in Qatar on July 7, 2019; and Afghanistan's former Vice President Younus Qanooni during a ceremony in Kabul, on April 3, 2007 [File: Karim Jaafar and Shah Marai/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/000_9E83BX.jpg?resize=170%2C113)
![Anil Sharma breaks down while talking to the Associated Press after visiting his son, Saurav, who is being treated for COVID-19 at a private hospital in New Delhi [Manish Swarup/AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AP21201497173414.jpg?resize=170%2C113)
![A once-powerful cardinal and nine other people are accused of bleeding the Holy See of tens of millions of dollars in donations through bad investments, deals with shady money managers and apparent favours to friends and family [File: Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/vatican.jpg?resize=170%2C113)
Post
