Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House medical adviser on the novel coronavirus, said he’s “very frustrated” over what’s happening to the United States when it comes to COVID-19, The Associated Press reports.
- “We’re going in the wrong direction,” he said.
Are COVID-19 cases rising?
Fauci’s specifically referring to the rise in coronavirus cases caused by the delta variant. Data from the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub — which is a model and forecast for COVID-19 cases from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — suggests that cases could climb between 90,000 to 800,000 in the next three weeks. And there’s expected to be a COVID-19 wave that lasts into the fall, NPR reports.
- “This is an issue predominantly among the unvaccinated, which is the reason why we’re out there, practically pleading with the unvaccinated people to go out and get vaccinated,” Fauci said, according to The Associated Press.
How do we stop COVID-19?
Fauci said he and government workers are pleading with people to get the coronavirus vaccine in order to stop the current surge.
- “What I would really like to see is more and more of the leaders in those areas that are not vaccinating to get out and speak out and encourage people to get vaccinated,” Fauci said, according to The Associated Press.
Last week, Fauci suggested that fully vaccinated people might want to wear face masks again indoors as a precaution against the delta variant, as I wrote for the Deseret News. This is especially the case if you live in an area where COVID-19 cases are high and the risk of transmission is rising.
- “If you want to go the extra mile of safety even though you’re vaccinated when you’re indoors, particularly in crowded places, you might want to consider wearing a mask,” Fauci told CNBC.