White House senior medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that the inconsistent vaccination rates in different areas of the U.S. will create “two Americas.”
“When you have such a low level of vaccination superimposed upon a variant that has a high degree of efficiency of spread, what you are going to see among under-vaccinated regions, whether they be states, cities, or counties, you’re going to see the individual types of blips. It’s almost like it’s going to be two Americas,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said. (RELATED: Moderna Vaccine Protects Against COVID-19 Variants, Including Delta, Study Says)
Dr. Anthony Fauci on the Delta variant: “If you are not vaccinated you are at considerable risk …”
“…What you are gonna see among under-vaccinated regions … you’re gonna see these individual types of blips. It’s almost like it’s going to be two Americas.” pic.twitter.com/0CEbqsxiAQ
— The Recount (@therecount) June 30, 2021
The Delta variant, a more contagious and aggressive form of COVID-19, has spread across the U.S. throughout the year. As of Tuesday, the Delta variant has been involved in 26.1% of U.S. COVID-19 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The variant has altered the effectiveness of herd immunity, which increases the need for vaccines, CNN reported.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN Wednesday he is concerned about the Delta variant and its impact on regions with low vaccination rates.
“I’m concerned about the Delta variant. And I am worried that what we are seeing in terms of a plateauing of cases nationally but also an increase in cases in many small sections of the United States, that that is, in fact, being driven by the Delta variant,” Murthy said. “This is not over, and the virus wins when we let our guard down, when we take our eye off the ball. We’ve seen many times that it’s fooled us in the past. We’ve got to stay vigilant, got to get vaccinated, we’ve got to talk to other people about getting vaccinated.”
As of Tuesday, 46% of the U.S. population are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine carry the highest percentages of fully vaccinated people in contrast to Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi, which have the lowest percentages of fully immunized people in the nation, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.
Texas and California have the highest daily cases averaging to 1,284 and 1,017 cases per day, despite having higher vaccination rates compared to other states, according to The New York Times.