Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that there is still a “very high risk” of being infected with a new variant of COVID-19, even if you have already been infected, as he urged all Americans to be vaccinated as soon as possible.
Fauci, who was appointed Joe Biden’s chief medical consultant, told a White House press conference that being vaccinated was more important than ever, given the emergence of new strains, in particular those from South Africa, England and Brazil.
On Friday, the first major analysis of the South African strain found that being previously infected did not prevent reinfection with the new variant.
Fauci explained that the worrying news means that more people need to be vaccinated to reduce the number of people in whom the virus can replicate.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told Wolf Blitzer on Monday that all Americans should be vaccinated soon
President Joe Biden is seen visiting the COVID Walter Reed vaccination site on Friday
“You need to be vaccinated when it is available as quickly and quickly as possible across the country,” he said.
“And the reason for that is that viruses cannot mutate if they don’t replicate.
“And if you stop replicating by vaccinating widely and not giving the virus an open playing field to continue to respond to the pressures you put on it, you will not get mutations.”
As of Sunday, 471 cases of variants identified for the first time in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil had been located in the United States, 467 of which were the variant found in Britain.
Later, Fauci told CNN that there was a “very high rate” of reinfection with the new variants, should they become dominant.
‘If you become dominant, the experience of our colleagues in South Africa indicates that even if you have been infected with the original virus, there is a very high rate of reinfection to the point that the previous infection does not appear to protect you from reinfection, ‘ he said.
Experts warn that it is a race against the clock to vaccinate people. In the photo, a team preparing vaccine syringes at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, on Friday
Variants may make the vaccine less effective, Fauci said, but that does not mean that vaccinations were a waste of time.
“Even though there is reduced protection against variants, there is enough protection to prevent you from contracting serious illnesses, including hospitalization and deaths,” said Fauci. ‘So vaccination is critical.’
January was the deadliest month of the entire pandemic in the United States, with more than 95,300 deaths – an average of more than 3,070 deaths per day.
However, the United States seems to be on a slightly more positive track now.
Compared to last week, the number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 has dropped 10 percent or more in 38 states, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
There were 1,562 deaths recorded on Monday.
A new CDC order requiring people to wear masks when using any type of public transport came into effect shortly before midnight on Monday.
People can take off their masks briefly to eat, drink or take medication; verify your identity with police or transport authorities; communicate with people with hearing loss; put an oxygen mask on an aircraft; or during a medical emergency, said the CDC.
Children under the age of two or people with disabilities who cannot wear a mask are exempt.
It is estimated that 26 million people received at least one dose of their two-dose vaccines, according to the CDC, and about six million were fully vaccinated with both doses.
The US is behind other countries in terms of vaccinating people – in particular Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Britain.
Israel is vaccinating 1.87 people per 100,000, according to Our World In Data.
The United Arab Emirates are in second with 1.26, and Britain tied with Serbia in third, with 0.58.
The United States is in fifth place, with 0.4 people per 100,000.