COVID-19: Fauci describes delta variant as 'nasty', urges citizens to get vaccinated

United States top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci on July 11 described the Delta variant of COVID-19 as "nasty variant". He added that the COVID-19 vaccines being used in the US protect the person against the delta variant. He urged the citizens to get vaccinated to protect themselves from the highly transmissible delta variant. 

"It is very clear that this is a nasty variant and has a much greater capacity of transmitting from person to person," ANI cited The Hill quoting Fauci's interview with ABC's "This Week".

"COVID-19 vaccines that are being used in America to fight the coronavirus are working very well and do protect against the Delta variant," ANI cited The Hill quoting Fauci's interview with ABC's "This Week".

The US top disease expert said that the presence of the delta variant is "bad news". Fauci added that the "good news" is that the country has the vaccine that works extremely well to protect the citizens against the highly transmissible delta variant. He also raised concern over the vaccine hesitancy among people in some of the states in the country. 

US President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor Dr Anthony Fauci said that the delta variant has a greater capability of transmitting from person to person. He clarified that there is no need for booster shots for people who are fully vaccinated "at this time". He added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) and Food and Drug Administration(FDA) was gathering information to see if and when they might need it. 

COVID-19 situation in the US

The highly transmissible B.1.617.2 Delta variant continues to spread across the United States at a rapid pace. According to US CDC, the delta variant makes up more than 50 per cent of COVID-19 cases. In some parts of the country, this percentage is even higher, especially in areas with low vaccination rates. According to US CDC, 159,266,536 people have been fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 while 184,132,768 people have received one shot of the vaccine. According to Johns Hopkins University, the overall COVID-19 cases reported in the US have reached 33,853,948 while 607,156 people have lost their lives due to the virus.

Dr Anthony Fauci on July 1 said that all COVID-19 vaccines which have been authorised by the US are highly effective against the Delta variant. While speaking at a press briefing, Fauci informed that according to Public Health England, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 96 per cent effective against hospitalization from the Delta variant after two doses, and the AstraZeneca was 92 per cent effective against hospitalization after two doses. He added that the AstraZeneca and J&J (Johnson & Johnson) are based on similar platforms, the results against the Delta variant are expected to be at least similar. He stressed that the science is clear and added that the best way to protect an individual against the virus and the variants is to be fully vaccinated.

IMAGE: AP/Pixabay

Inputs from ANI