Although there are many, many reasons to celebrate the vaccine rollout here in the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci does not want us to lose sight of the fact that we are not out of the woods. The Delta variant, that proved so destructive in India, is getting a foothold in the US. Since it was first reported here, the Delta variant has doubled and is expected to become the dominant strain of the virus within weeks. The spread is happening so quickly that Dr. Fauci called it, “the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19.”

Cases of COVID-19 are slowing in the United States as more Americans get vaccinated, but getting to the end of the pandemic is going to take longer with the highly contagious Delta variant spreading throughout the country.

In the last week, cases from the Delta variant have doubled, up to 20.6%, and federal health experts expect it to become the dominant strain in the next few weeks.

“The Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said during a White House briefing on Tuesday.

The variant, which was first identified in India, has spread faster than other strains and led to more hospitalizations, though it does not appear to be more deadly. Testing also shows that the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are nearly fully effective against the Delta strain, preventing infection in around 94% of fully vaccinated people.

“The news that’s so important is that the vaccines that we have now, that we’ve done so well in distributing … over 65% of the adult population has received at least one dose. We’re doing well with a vaccine that does quite well against this problematic variant,” Fauci told Savannah Guthrieon Today Wednesday morning.
Fauci emphasized, though, that “it’s the unvaccinated people that we’re concerned about.”

If more people get vaccinated, Fauci said, they can prevent COVID-19 from continuing to mutate and create more virulent strains like the Delta variant.

“Another important reason why we need to get vaccinated: viruses don’t mutate if they don’t replicate,” he said. “If you give them the opportunity to replicate by allowing them to spread from person to person, you’re giving them the perfect opportunity to mutate even more and perhaps evade the vaccine.”

[From People]

Viruses are expected to mutate throughout their lives, so the emergence of the Delta variant is unfortunate, but not surprising. The variant may cause more severe illness, but the verdict is still out on that. It spreads quicker because it latches to the body’s cells better. This is why precautions are still necessary. And why vaccinations are important, because they will protect against the Delta variant as well. This is Dr. Fauci’s point. In the communities with low vaccine rates, the Delta variant will spread even quicker than its predecessor. We’re looking at years before we are truly rid of this pandemic. There’s already another mutation, the Delta plus, waiting in the wings. This thing is going to keep going but the devastation it wreaks is up to us and how well we protect against it.

Speaking of, although some places have done a great job with their vaccination numbers, others have fallen a short. It was just announced we will not make Biden’s revised 70% vaccinated by July 4th goal. The reason the push to vaccinate is still important is because of those who can’t be vaccinated, mainly children. And remember, “being vaccinated” means receiving both doses. Many people are skipping the second for various reasons but don’t. It isn’t effective enough. I’m fortunate in that about 85% of the people in my area are still in masks and vaccinated so I feel pretty safe this summer. I can’t wait for COVID to be nothing more than a “remember when” story.

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