The delta variant is wreaking havoc through much of the United States, but the “silver lining” is that more Americans appear to be at the tipping point of understanding the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations, one expert said.
“People are waking up to this,” Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins told CNN Sunday. “That’s what desperately needs to happen if we are going to get this delta variant put back in its place, because right now it is having a pretty big party in the middle of the country.”
In the past two weeks, daily case rates have gone up four-fold, Collins said. This increase comes as the delta variant spreads and the percentage of vaccinated Americans hovers around 49.6%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitals are once again filling up with patients as the virus tears through the unvaccinated population.
Experts say the path to protect Americans and slow or stop the spread of the virus is clear: vaccinations. More than 99.99% of people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have not had a breakthrough case resulting in hospitalization or death, according to the latest data from the CDC.
And though vaccination rates have slowed since the initial rush for inoculation, as the pandemic once again worsens, the rates are climbing.
On Saturday, more than 816,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered across the U.S., marking the fifth straight day more than 700,000 shots in arms were recorded, according to the CDC. The current seven-day average of doses administered is 662,529 per day, the highest average since July 7.
Read more about this story. |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.