Anthony Fauci concedes COVID-19 vaccines do not protect 'overly well' against the virus

The Chief Medical Advisor to the President of the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday acknowledged that COVID-19 immunisations do not "overly well" protect against infection. During an exclusive interview with Fox News, Fauci said that one thing that is evident from the information is that while COVID-19 vaccines do not "protect overly well" against the infection due to the high degree of transmissibility of coronavirus, they do "protect quite well" against the serious illness that can result in hospitalisation and death. 

The White House chief medical adviser further said: “I feel confident that it made a major role in protecting me from progressing to severe disease. And that's very likely why I had a relatively mild course.” 

“So my message to people who seem confused because people who are vaccinated get infected - the answer is if you were not vaccinated, the likelihood (is) you would have had (a) more severe course than you did have when you were vaccinated,” he added as per Fox News.  

US Chief Medical Adviser tested positive for COVID-19 in June 

In June, Dr. Anthony Fauci tested positive for the COVID-19 disease. Mild COVID-19 symptoms were being experienced by the 81-year-old Fauci, who is completely immunised and has had two booster doses, citing a statement released by the National Institutes of Health, Associated Press reported. A quick antigen test revealed that he was positive. 

Meanwhile, as two new, extremely contagious COVID-19 strains are spreading quickly across the US, the Biden administration has urged people to exercise increased care. The new  variants, termed BA.4 and BA.5, are Omicron variant offspring that have been largely responsible for the virus' propagation in the US and are even more infectious than their originators. White House medical staff emphasised the value of receiving booster doses, even if you have recently contracted the infection, Associated Press reported. 

Many Americans are not up to date on their COVID vaccines: Rochelle Walensky

According to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many Americans are now under-vaccinated, implying they are not up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations. The greatest defence against serious consequences is to keep the COVID-19 vaccinations updated, she added. 

Walensky also stressed that the number of hospitalisations for COVID-19 in the US has doubled since April, illustrating the spreading of the new subvariants, however, the daily fatalities have remained constant at about 300 per day.  

Besides this, US Chief Medical Adviser Fauci noted that while the new strains are alarming, the nation has the resources to prevent them from having a negative impact with boosters, indoor masks, and therapies. 

The CDC recommends that all Americans over the age of five receive a booster five months after their original main series, and those above 50 or who are immunocompromised should have a second booster four months after the first. Tens of millions of Americans who are qualified haven't had their first booster, and just 28% of those over 50 who did have their first booster have obtained their second, as per the CDC. 

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