Anthony Fauci
Anthony FauciOvernight Health Care: CDC says three feet away is safe in schools | Occurrence of COVID-19 cases in Europe and Brazil signal alert for the USA | Biden attacks Trump on first visit to CDC Watch live: White House COVID-19 response team press conference Night healthcare: Biden says the country will approve 100 million COVID-19 injections this week | US to send excess doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Mexico, Canada | Senate confirms Becerra to HHS in a tight vote MORE, the government’s leading infectious disease expert, has warned that coronavirus variants may be responsible for up to 30 percent of infections in the United States
Fauci specifically sounded the alarm at a press conference at the White House on Friday about variant B.1.1.7, which was first discovered in the UK and has since spread worldwide.
“This variant, as you know, is becoming more and more dominant in our own country,” said Fauci.
“It was first detected in the UK in December 2020. It has been reported in more than 90 countries. The first US cases were detected in the United States, Colorado, at the end of December 2020. And since then, it has been detected in 50 jurisdictions in the United States, and probably now accounts for about 20 to 30 percent of infections in the country. , and that number is growing, “he said.
Fauci noted the concern of experts that the variant is more easily transmissible and that a serious infection is more likely after contracting.
“It is worrying that there is an increase of around 50% in transmission with this particular variant that has been documented in the UK, and there will likely be an increase in the severity of the disease if infected with this variant,” he said.
Public health officials specifically pointed to UK variants, as well as other strains, in their calls for the public not to relax following safety guidelines, such as wearing masks and social detachment.
One study showed a 64% higher risk of death for people contracting variant B.1.1.7, and another showed a 61% higher risk of death.
However, vaccines have been shown to be effective against the variant.
“The way to combat 1.1.7, which is a growing threat in our country, is to do two things: vaccinate as many people as quickly and as quickly as possible with the vaccine that we know works against this variant; and, finally, implement the public health measures that we talk about all the time, ”said Fauci.