Top US doc warns of deadlier variant
Anthony Fauci’s dire warning comes as the US hit a six-month high for new Covid-19 cases with over 100k reported in a day
WASHINGTON: Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert and adviser to the government, has sent out a chilling warning, saying Covid-19 cases in the country may double as a coronavirus variant worse than Delta could be coming.
“If America’s current Covid-19 surge continues unabated into the fall and winter, the country will likely face an even more deadly strain of the virus that could evade the current coronavirus vaccines,” Fauci said, according to an Axios report.
The current surge in coronavirus cases in the US is being driven by the Delta variant, which is already more contagious than the original strain of the virus.
“Quite frankly, we’re very lucky that the vaccines that we have now do very well against the variants - particularly against severe illness,” Fauci said.
But he made it clear that it might not be the case if a new variant starts to spread. “If another one comes along that has an equally high capability of
transmitting but also is much more severe, then we could really be in trouble,” he said. “People who are not getting vaccinated mistakenly think it’s only about them. But it isn’t. It’s about everybody else also.”
Fauci’s warning came as the US hit a six-month high for new Covid-19 cases with over 100,000 infections reported on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally.
The country reported well over 94,819 cases on a seven-day average, a five-fold increase in less than a month, Reuters data through Wednesday showed.
The seven-day average provides the most accurate picture of how fast cases are rising since some states only report infections once or twice a week. In the coming weeks, cases could double to 200,000 per day due to the Delta variant, said Fauci.
Melbourne locked down for 6th time Australia’s second largest city, Melbourne, went into a sixth lockdown on Thursday, with a state government leader blaming the nation’s slow Covid-19 vaccination roll-out for the decision.
Melbourne joined Sydney and Brisbane, Australia’s most populous and third most populous cities respectively, in locking down due to the spread of the Delta variant.
Melbourne and surrounding Victoria state will lock down for seven weeks after eight new infections were detected in the city, Victoria premier Daniel Andrews said. Andrews gave less than four hours notice that the state would lock down from 8pm.
China: Delta detected in nearly half the country China imposed new restrictions on travel in a bid to slow a Deltadriven outbreak that’s grown to more than 500 cases scattered across half the country, as the government stuck to an aggressive containment playbook rather than rely on its high vaccination rate.
Public transport and taxi services were curtailed in 144 of the worst-hit areas nationwide, while officials curbed train service and subway usage in Beijing, where three new cases were reported on Wednesday.
France, Germany to offer booster despite WHO call The German and French governments will begin offering a third Covid-19 vaccine booster shot to the most vulnerable members of their populations starting in September, disregarding a World Health Organization (WHO) appeal to delay third doses until more people in poorer countries are vaccinated.
The decision to press ahead with booster shots despite the strongest statement yet from the WHO highlights the challenge of dealing with a global pandemic while countries try to protect their own citizens from the Delta variant.