“The mutants are here,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned the chief medical aide to the president and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He was talking about the variants of COVID-19 that are more transmissible – and possibly more deadly. “These variants appear to spread more easily and quickly than other variants, which can lead to more cases of COVID-19,” says CDC. “An increase in the number of cases will put more pressure on health resources, lead to more hospitalizations and potentially more deaths.” Fauci spoke to Ari Melber on MSNBC about the “worst case scenario”. Keep reading to hear your warning – and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss out on these Clear signs that you’ve had the coronavirus.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci
Dr. Fauci said that the worst case scenario “is a possibility”
Melber asked Fauci about the variants – “you have the South African, who is drawing attention because she is seen as more infectious and resistant to vaccines,” he said. “In the meantime, a leading epidemiologist who advises Joe Biden is offering this warning about the British strain today.”
Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said a “Category 5 hurricane” may be on the way. “It will take much more than a vaccine to keep this variant under control and not have a potential increase in the coming weeks,” said Osterholm. said on CNN’s New day. “I think among my colleagues, they would agree that this variant of the United Kingdom, which is now beginning to circulate much more widely in the United States, represents a great challenge for us. And that in just a few weeks, we could be seeing the number of cases. increase dramatically, “added Osterholm.
“Well, let’s put it this way: this is certainly a possibility,” said Dr. Fauci. “But” if we all follow public health measures and get vaccinated, “it doesn’t necessarily have to happen,” he says.
Fauci said that his “good friend” Dr. Osterholm “tends to think in terms of the worst case scenario. Now, the worst case scenario can occur. But I think we have the power within us to do things, to prevent this from happening. you get a dominant strain and he’s right in saying that if you model the strain from the UK, which is more transmissible in the UK, leading to this increase – if it becomes dominant in the United States, we will be challenged with a virus that has a certain degree of transmissibility. This is more efficient than what we have been dealing with. And because of that, it must be an impulse to double. So evenly, not irregularly, but uniformly across the country. a certain degree of adherence to those measures that we know work. So, he is correct in saying that this is a possibility and it can be, but I think it need not be an inevitability – a possibility, but not necessarily an inevitability. “
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Dr. Fauci said that herd immunity can still be achieved
Fauci was asked whether collective immunity would be compromised by the new mutants. “I think it is a reasonably accurate estimate that if we receive 70 to 85% of the vaccinated population, we will, in fact, have a degree of collective immunity, which would be represented by a kind of umbrella or blanket,” said Fauci. “So the level of the virus is so low that it is no longer threatening. Now, the point is that if you get these variants that dominate those that you need to worry about – more than the British one, it’s the one that’s in South Africa, because that of South Africa, which is 351, is just the name of the lineage. We don’t like to call it by the country – it gets to be a little stigmatizing of the country, which we shouldn’t be doing – but if it becomes dominant in the country, it tends to run away from the vaccine’s effectiveness a little. So it may spread more quickly. That’s the worrying news. “
He added: “We can see a situation where we have more infections, but if people get vaccinated, the overwhelming proportion of people who get vaccinated says that you have the unusual situation of a lot more infections, even if you get vaccinated, but a lot less people getting serious illness and dying. Is that clear? I mean, I think it’s important because it can be confusing. “
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How to stay safe during this pandemic
Mutant or not, follow Fauci’s fundamentals and help stop this wave, no matter where you live – use a face mask, social distance, avoid large crowds, do not go home with people you are not sheltering (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, be vaccinated when it is available to you and to protect your life and the lives of others, don’t visit any of these 35 places you’re most likely to reach COVID.
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