Seeing COVID infections in the U.S. soaring, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, yesterday offered his opinion as to the reason accounting for the surge in infections. He also said the U.S. would not have found itself in an "unnecessary predicament", had unvaccinated yet eligible Americans got their COVID shots sooner.
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"We're going in the wrong direction." That's what the American top infectious disease expert said during an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" show when asked why the U.S. is seeing a rebound in infections.
Offering his two cents as to whether a mask mandate applicable to all Americans, regardless of their vaccination status, is necessary in the fight against the pandemic, he said the plan is "under active consideration" by the government's leading public health officials.
U.S. health officials had warned of a serious virus outbreak, should unvaccinated Americans remain unconvinced and reluctant to get COVID jabs. And so it is, the U.S. has found itself in an "unnecessary predicament" of soaring COVID infections. Fauci mentioned that a reason why the U.S. is now riddled with infections is, in part, due to sluggish vaccination rates in some states, leaving all Americans in those states in danger.
And a stern warning from Fauci to the unvaccinated, because not only will the unvaccinated hurt themselves, they will also render the vaccinated infected.
"There will be some breakthrough infections even among the vaccinated. So, as long as you have circulating virus in the community, which is predominantly because people are not getting vaccinated, then they hurt themselves and you don't want to see that, because among those people, they are gonna wind up getting hospitalised, and some of them are going to die." Said Fauci.
More than 163 million people, who account for 49 percent of the country's population, are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Among those eligible for a vaccine, 57 percent of them have gotten their shots.
Knowing some Americans still haven't a clue as to whether to get vaccinated, health officials in the United States are stressing that the life-saving vaccines are crucial to warding off the threat posed by COVID.
While the country is taking a beating, Fauci, alongside other government experts, are now reviewing early data as they consider whether to recommend vaccinated individuals get booster shots. He suggested organ transplant and cancer patients are the most vulnerable, which stands to reason why they will likely be recommended to get booster shots first.
Meantime, he also praised some of the most outspoken Republicans of COVID vaccines for encouraging Americans to avail themselves of the vaccination drive. He also expressed his hope that more politicians will speak out and encourage people to get the shots, thereby averting community transmissions and more outbreaks, as COVID continues to play out in the country.
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