Experts continue to express concern that coronavirus variants could end up delaying the full return to normal.
- “With declining rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths across the U.S., more cities and states have lifted safety restrictions in anticipation of a better summer,” according to CNN. “But officials continue to warn that those unvaccinated remain vulnerable to the virus, especially to dangerous variants which could set back national progress against the pandemic if they become more widespread.”
Concerns over COVID-19 Delta variant
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser on the coronavirus, recently warned that the Delta variant, which was first discovered in India, could present the biggest danger for a return to normal.
Per CNBC, Fauci said the Delta variant has been spreading wildly in the U.K. But letting it spread in the U.S. would not be a good idea.
- “In the U.K., the Delta variant is rapidly emerging as the dominant variant. ... It is replacing the B.1.1.7,” Fauci said, according to CNBC. “We cannot let that happen in the United States.”
Fauci recommends people get vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to stop dangerous variants from spreading.
COVID-19 vaccine concerns
Misinformation has been spreading wildly about the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who works as a CNN medical analyst, told CNN it’s not great that people are hearing misinformation about the vaccine.
- “This kind of doubting the safety of vaccines, doubting the necessity of vaccines ... it is very, very dangerous, and a lot of people are hearing this,” Reiner told CNN.