Much more "pain and suffering" awaits the United States on the horizon as COVID-19 cases soar again and some states like Florida record their worst daily numbers since the start of the pandemic, Dr. Anthony warned Sunday. Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert.
"Things will get worse," Fauci said in an interview with the ABC television program 'This Week' in which he highlighted the threat of the delta variant, responsible for more than 80% of new diagnosed cases.
He also spoke of
the concern of the health authorities about the reluctance of a substantial part of the population to go to get vaccinated
against the coronavirus.
Despite the fact that the country is going through the fourth wave of infections, the also director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases said that he does not foresee an economic shutdown like the one ordered in 2020, as he ensures that there are enough people vaccinated to avoid a return to the peaks of last winter.
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But the number of vaccinated, he said, "is not enough to crush the outbreak."
According to the CDC, about 190.5 million people had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday, including about 164.2 million who are fully vaccinated with some of the three available vaccines.
"I do not think we will have a closure, but we will have pain and suffering in the future because we are seeing that the cases increase, which
is the reason why we keep saying over and over again: the solution to this is to get vaccinated," he
said.
Florida, the nation's third-largest state in population, registered 21,638 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the highest number since the pandemic began in March 2020. The previous daily record was 19,334 cases, on January 7, 2021. Now the state is the new epicenter of the disease in the United States.
Last Tuesday, the country's health authorities backed down and recommended that those vaccinated wear a mask indoors in most territories and in schools.
"Wearing a mask is going to have to be a part of life for people who have already been vaccinated," said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
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President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he will force all workers in his government to
prove they are vaccinated if they do not want to be tested regularly
, and he did not rule out that he may impose a nationwide vaccination mandate in the future.
Biden also asked the Pentagon to force all the country's military to be vaccinated.
"We are going to ask all employees of the federal government to prove their vaccination status," he said during a speech at the White House.
Those who do not provide that test must wear a mask to work and undergo COVID-19 tests weekly or even twice a week, in addition to maintaining physical distance and generally prohibited from participating in official trips, explained the president .
