U.S. Surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, today expressed his concern over the country's sluggish vaccination rate. This, as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread across the country.
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COVID-19 infections last week increased substantially by 17,000 nationwide for the first time since the nationwide vaccination program began.
The recent spike in COVID cases, according to U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, is mainly due to the Delta variant first identified in India. That highly contagious variant has since hit Britain and other countries.
With infections and hospitalisations on the rise, the increasing numbers had Murthy peeved, saying the data speaks volumes. He once again urged Americans to get inoculated to contribute to the country's efforts to fight the pandemic.
"Knowing that the vast majority, the vast, vast majority of people who are fully vaccinated have a high degree of protection, that also gives me some comfort. But what I worry about is that we still have millions of people in our country who are not vaccinated." Said Murthy.
Around 186 million Americans have received at least one COVID shot, but another 90 million eligible Americans have yet to get a jab.
Having learned that the virus is still running amuck in the country, U.S. officials are hell-bent on winning conservative Americans over. This, as the pandemic of the unvaccinated is literally affecting states where vaccination rates remain sluggish despite wide vaccine availability.
In Las Vegas, some resorts and casinos are requiring employees to wear masks in response to the reinstatement of anti-virus restrictions issued by health officials.
Los Angeles County reinstated mask mandates last Saturday, requiring everyone to wear masks inside public buildings.
And in San Francisco, which has one of the highest vaccination rates in California, health officials have recommended people wear masks inside public buildings, despite some of their status of having completed the vaccination.
Be that as it may, Alabamans have refused to get vaccinated as many of them remain unconvinced. Officials have refused to reinstate statewide health rules as they still hope to reopen as soon as possible.
Meantime, in the fight against virus and vaccine misinformation, Vivek Murthy has come to grips with the spread of misinformation, saying the government has got to step up efforts to fight the threat of it. He sided with President Biden, who last week denounced the spread of misinformation as the world's top assassin. Offering his two cents, Surgeon General Murthy said it's not misinformation per se that kills people, but the spread of misinformation.
"Each of us has a decision that we make every time we post something on social media, and I'm asking people to pause and to see, is a source accurate? Is it coming from a scientifically credible authority? And if it's not, or if you're not sure, don't share." Said Murthy.
The unvaccinated better act fast. More and more people are expected to be killed at the hands of the virus, should vaccination rates around the world remain sluggish.
As the COVID situation in the globe takes a turn for the worse, the plunge in share prices reverberated across the globe. The Dow Jones dropped 0.9 percent to end the day at 34,688. Japan's Nikkei 225 shed nearly 1.2 percent in early trading, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 1.6 percent to 27,561.
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