White House to deploy teams to hot spots as Delta variant spreads in US
The White House says it will send out special teams to hot spots around the United States to combat the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant as the country saw a rise of 10 percent in cases this week.
The delta variant, which is around 60 percent more transmissible than the alpha variant - the current dominant strain in the US -, has been detected in all 50 states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that the lagging vaccination rate in the US coupled with the "hypertransmissible delta variant" could account for the latest increase in cases across the country.
“Looking state by state and county by country it is clear communities where people remain unvaccinated are communities that are vulnerable. I expect that in the coming weeks the [Delta] variant will eclipse the Alpha variant" said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky during a White House briefing.
Also, White House Covid czar Jeff Zients said teams, comprised of officials from the CDC and other federal agencies, will be sent to communities at higher risk of experiencing outbreaks and focus on increasing the rate of Covid-19 vaccinations.
“As we continue to work with communities across the country to get more shots in arms, we will also be working with governors and state and local health authorities to identify and address the needs on the ground in places with emergency outbreaks,” Zients told reporters during the briefing.
The delta variant now accounts for a quarter of all new cases in the US, with Walensky saying its rapid spread will make it the dominant US strain within the coming weeks.
The seven-day average of new cases this week was nearly 12,600 cases, showing a rise of 10 percent compared to last week's average, Walensky said.
"We don't want to alarm people," she told NBC News, adding, "but we follow these numbers really, really carefully."
Although new cases are nowhere near the January peak of over 247,000 Covid-19 cases per day, the shift has made some experts "a little nervous."
"I expect that we are going to see the number of cases around the country going up as the delta variant spreads," said Dr. Richard Besser, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting director of the CDC. "The reason for that is that a significant number of people in America are still not vaccinated."
As of Thursday, 57.4 percent of American adults had been fully vaccinated, the CDC says.
US students launch hunger strike to protest Israeli starvation war in Gaza
Medicaid cuts will hit low income families
Iranian PhD student forced to self-deport after US detention on vague claims
Hamas says it will release US-Israeli captive as Tel Aviv stresses ‘not committed’ to ceasefire
Press TV expands its broadcast to Australia and Oceania region via Intelsat 19
VIDEO | US Western-centric order is over
Trump set to accept luxury ‘flying palace’ as gift from Qatar’s royal family: Report
PKK militant group disbands, ends armed struggle against Turkey: Report
Narratives of denial: Western media’s deep complicity in Israel’s Gaza genocide
VIDEO | Tens of thousands rally in Brussels against Israeli genocide, urge Gaza ceasefire
Netanyahu’s Gaza depopulation remarks ‘modern blueprint for ethnic cleansing’: Euro-Med
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
