The COVID-19 Omicron version is ‘just raging around the world’: Fauci
The top White House medical adviser said Sunday that the COVID-19 omicron variant “is rampant around the world,” and President Joe Biden plans to issue “a stern warning of what winter will look like” for unvaccinated Americans . The nation’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the “real problem” for the American hospital system is that “we have too many people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated.” Haven’t been vaccinated yet.”
The prospect of a chilly winter from a wave of coronavirus infections marks a serious reversal from the optimism projected by Biden nearly 10 months ago, when he suggested at a CNN town hall that the country would essentially be back to normal by this Christmas.
Biden cautions not to exaggerate, yet confidence in the country has been battered by an incredible wave of COVID-19 mutations and diversions that have left many Americans emotionally exhausted, conflicted and worried about infection .
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tried to defend the president’s earlier promise in a separate interview Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“The idea of hoping and aspiring to be free of the virus after a period of time is understandable and justified,” Fauci said.
“But one thing we know from almost two years of experience with this virus is that it’s really very unpredictable.”
Yet the president is potentially caught in a negative feedback loop because of a risk that the transition could worsen the supply chain challenges facing the United States and fuel inflation. Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., told NBC that Biden should stop talking about vaccination as two shots and a booster and, instead, calling it “three doses” to maximize protection. are necessary for.
Polis turned to inflation, which is running at a nearly four-decade high, saying Biden needs to show the country that he is up to that particular challenge as part of his forthcoming remarks on the Omron edition. How are you addressing?
“We can do very concrete things that really reduce the cost for Americans,” Polis said, noting that Colorado is cutting vehicle registration fees and making it free to register a new business. Is.
The administration is anticipating a series of successful transitions with an increase in holiday travelers. Fauci said most people who have been vaccinated and received a booster should be fine, if they follow precautions like wearing masks frequently in crowded settings like airports.
Biden plans to speak on the state of the fight against COVID-19 on Tuesday and discuss government help for communities, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted. The president will also warn about the risks to Americans who “choose to live without vaccination.”
Fauci was asked on CNN whether he expected a record number of cases – and what about hospitalizations and deaths. “Yeah, well, unfortunately. I think it’s going to happen,” he said. Fauci told NBC that the president would again urge people to get booster shots, highlighting the increased availability of testing, Will discuss “surge teams” for besieged hospitals and explain how important it is to make vaccines available to the rest of the world.
“One thing that’s very clear, and there’s no doubt about it, is its extraordinary ability to spread, its transmittance. It’s really, you know, really raging through the world,” Fauci said.
“And if you look here in the United States as well, you have some areas that start out with a few percent of isolates that are positive, now going up to 30 percent, 40 percent, and in some places 50 percent. ” Psaki’s announcement came on Twitter on Saturday when Vice President Kamala Harris said in a Los Angeles Times interview that the Biden administration “didn’t see the delta coming. I think most of the scientists — whose advice and direction we have relied on – Didn’t see Delta coming. He continued: “We didn’t see O’Micron coming. And that’s the nature of this terrible virus, which, as it turns out, has mutations and variations.”
The Vice President’s words cast doubt on the administration’s strategy to deal with the pandemic. Biden effectively declared independence from the virus at a White House ceremony on July 4 to mark progress with vaccination inside the United States, yet the global nature of the pandemic meant the disease could develop Because others around the world are waiting to be vaccinated.
Fauci told NBC that he saw the variants coming and felt that Harris’ statement was “slightly taken out of context,” adding that he believed the “extraordinary number of mutations … Apparently with Omicron”. Nobody expected this much but we were well prepared and hoped that we were going to see the variants.”
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