{Good evening.}
We turn our attention to the United States, where daily COVID records are obliterated every day. In light of that, the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said more pain and suffering are upon Americans, and pleaded with unvaccinated Americans to get their shots to avert more public health crises ahead.
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During an interview with ABC news yesterday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he doesn't foresee additional lockdowns in the U.S. because the country's current vaccination rate is already enough to avert a repeat of last winter's outbreak. "I don't think we're gonna see lockdowns. I think we have enough of the percentage of people in the country. Not enough to crush the outbreak, but I believe enough to not allow us to get into the situation we were in last winter." Said Fauci.
Daily COVID records are obliterated every day in a vast number of U.S. states, including Florida. Data from the CDC reveals that Florida broke a previous record for current hospitalisations set more than a year ago before vaccines were available. 21,683 new COVID infections were reported last Friday.
Meantime, in New York, the rise in the state's vaccination rate failed to curb the outbreak. The number of people testing positive for COVID continues to swell instead of dwindling. An average of 2,036 cases were reported over the past seven days. And to put it in perspective, the average number of cases reported every day last week was five times the number recorded a month ago.
Around 57 percent of New Yorkers have been vaccinated against COVID, however low vaccination rates are reported in rural counties.
Earlier, the CDC likened the Delta variant to chickenpox, which is also notoriously contagious.
Reacting to statements that COVID vaccines are not entirely effective and hoping to set the record straight, Fauci said although vaccines are not considered 100 percent effective against the deadly virus, it can largely ward off COVID's threat. Plus, vaccinated people will only experience mild symptoms even if breakthrough infections occur in them. "Vaccinated people will get infected. Thank goodness for the most part, they will not get seriously ill. They will generally be asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. But we do know now, with this very difficult Delta variant, it's different than the alpha variant, in a very important way. And the important way is that it's much more highly transmissible. And when you do get infected, even if you don't have symptoms, the level of virus in the nasal pharynx is quite high." Said Fauci.
Data shows the seven-day average of daily new infections in the U.S. rose from 30,887 on July 16 to 77,827 on July 30. And that of daily new deaths over the same period increased by 253.
Currently, 58 percent of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated.
While nationwide vaccinations are up 56 percent, many are scared the devil's in the detail, as data from the CDC speaks volumes. States like Mississippi and Idaho only have around 40 percent vaccination rate. It goes without saying, tons of conservative Americans remain unvaccinated.
Knowing many unvaccinated Americans haven't a clue as to whether it is worth getting a vaccine, health officials once again sent a resonant call to action, asking eligible Americans to avail themselves of the country's vaccination drive, telling them getting vaccinated before another health disaster is a shrewd decision, which will benefit everyone.
As everyone well knows, vaccines hold the key to eradicating COVID. But more fallout continues today over why the CDC still recommended indoor mask-wearing when vaccines are available. The director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, said indoor mask mandates are aimed at protecting the unvaccinated and immunocompromised people.
Devoted to ridding the U.S. of COVID, the CDC has also recommended indoor mask-wearing for all staff, students and visitors at schools nationwide, regardless of vaccination status.
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