Unvaccinated Americans are putting themselves at risk for the most serious virus they will ever face in their lives, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said over the weekend.
What are the risks of COVID-19 for unvaccinated people?
Gottlieb recently told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that unvaccinated people may face a heavy risk with the novel coronavirus — especially with the delta variant, which has been more transmissible.
- “And for most people who get this delta variant, it’s going to be the most serious virus that they get in their lifetime in terms of the risk of putting them in the hospital,” Gottlieb told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Gottlieb said it’s likely the United States has seen more cases than the numbers suggest. Infected people might not be reporting infection because they’re not seeing symptoms and they don’t know they’re sick, he said.
- “So, I think that this delta wave could be far more advanced than what we’re detecting right now in our ascertainment,” he said.
COVID-19 cases rise among unvaccinated
COVID-19 deaths have been rising in recent days, especially among the unvaccinated, according to NPR. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday that the pandemic has become one of the vaccinated.
- “There is a clear message that is coming through: This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” she said Friday, according to NPR. “Our biggest concern is we are going to continue to see preventable cases, hospitalizations and sadly deaths among the unvaccinated.”
How to stop delta variant on unvaccinated people
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN that vaccination is the only way stop the delta variant from spreading so wildly.