The covid-19 pandemic “is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” says CDC director

(CNN) – At times when covid-19 cases Rising in all 50 states, US health authorities say it is clear that unvaccinated people are driving the rise and are most at risk.
“This is turning into a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during Friday’s briefing on the covid-19 at the White House.

“We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk,” Walensky said. Meanwhile, “communities that are fully vaccinated generally do well.”

Cases are on the rise in all 50 states and Washington City, with new cases averaging at least 10% higher than a week ago. 38 states are seeing an increase of at least 50%, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

The United States recorded an average of 26,448 new cases per day in the past week, 67% more than the previous week, and case rates are highest in states with the lowest vaccination rates: Among states that have fully vaccinated less than half of its residents, the average rate of covid-19 cases was 11 new cases per 100,000 people last week, compared with 4 per 100,000 among states that have fully vaccinated more than half of them. its residents.

Many experts have attributed the increase to slowing vaccination rates, with only 48.4% of the American population being fully vaccinated, according to the CDC data.

“Our greatest concern is that we are going to continue to see preventable cases, hospitalizations and, sadly, deaths among the unvaccinated,” Walensky said.

The danger is fueled by the increasing prevalence of the delta variant, first identified in India. Dr. Anthony Fauci noted an “extraordinary rise” in the variant worldwide, saying that the delta variant now dominates more than 50% in the United States. In some areas, it’s over 70%, he said, calling this “sobering news.”

“The bottom line is that we are facing a formidable opponent in the delta variant,” Fauci said, adding that people who are not vaccinated face “extreme vulnerability.”

In Arkansas, where just 35.1% of the population is fully vaccinated, the delta variant has had a major impact, said Cam Patterson, Chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, adding that hospitals are “full now. same and cases are doubling every 10 days. ” And emergency response services in the state say they are receiving a record number of calls due to the rise of the virus, according to CNN affiliate KATV.

In Missouri, a local health department has asked the state to fund the staffing and location of a health care center to address the rise in severe cases, according to a statement from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department. .

In California, Los Angeles County – the largest in the country with a population of 10 million people – has responded to the increase in cases and hospitalizations by reinstating the mask-wearing mandate as of Saturday. San Francisco Bay Area health authorities also advise people to cover their faces in closed public places, regardless of their vaccination status.

“The good news is that if you are fully vaccinated, you are protected against severe COVID-19, hospitalization and death,” Walensky said Friday, “and you are even protected against known variants, including the delta variant.”

“If you are not vaccinated,” he added, “you are still at risk.”

Experts underscore the importance of being fully vaccinated

Like Walensky’s comments, Dr. Peter Hotez, an immunologist and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said this was also a “pandemic of the partially vaccinated.”

“If these trends continue … anyone who is not vaccinated, or who may have only received one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, is very likely to become infected,” Hotez said.

Health authorities recommend that people who receive the first dose of the vaccine receive the second three to four weeks later, depending on whether they received the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna. Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine requires a single dose.

But the backlog should not prevent people from getting their second dose, Walensky said Friday.

“If you passed that threshold, I want to reiterate: there is no bad time to get the second dose,” Walensky said Friday. Both vaccines exceed 90% effectiveness against severe illness, hospitalization and deaths in real-world studies, he said.

But those who are partially vaccinated are still at risk of getting sick.

“Do it for yourself, your family and your community,” Walensky said. “And please do it for your young children who cannot get vaccinated right now.”

Vaccine misinformation costs lives

Meanwhile, the main reasons for indecision around COVID-19 vaccines are mistrust and misinformation, according to a CNN analysis of data from the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.

Nearly half of people who said they would “definitely” or “probably” not get vaccinated against COVID-19 cited distrust of vaccines as a reason not to get vaccinated, according to the latest data, released Wednesday and based on responses to the survey between June 23 and July 5. This is an increase from a month ago, when 46% of people who said they did not plan to get vaccinated gave the same reason.

“Millions of people do not have access to accurate information right now, because on social media platforms and other technology platforms we are seeing the rampant spread of misinformation, and this is costing people’s lives,” said Dr. Vivek Murthy, CEO of US Health, to CNN’s Jake Tapper.

Much of that information tends to come from people with good intentions, he added, saying they believe they are spreading useful information, but often misinformation spreads faster than accurate information.

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra agreed and told CNN’s Poppy Harlow that “people are told things that are not true, and they become more indecisive.”

“But fortunately, there are people who are seeing the facts,” he said. “They are seeing a loved one, unfortunately, be hospitalized, maybe die. And they are changing their minds.”

One of the best ways to combat misinformation, Murthy said, is to have conversations with your friends and family.

“It’s about peers talking to peers,” Murthy said during a Stanford University panel Thursday.

“Remember that all these conversations begin by listening first … so try to understand where that person is coming from, why they may be worried. It may not always be what you think.”

Colleges and universities that require vaccination

Some companies and hospitals have already required their employees to be vaccinated, and now some universities are applying requirements as well.

Rhode Island has become the first state in which all public and private colleges and universities require their students to be fully vaccinated before returning to campus this fall, Governor Dan McKee announced this week.

Rhode Island Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said in the state news release that vaccines are “key” to a successful academic year.

“We can’t let our guard down now,” Alexander-Scott said. “The delta variant is now circulating in parts of the country where many of our students live.”

The University of California, the nation’s largest public university system, said it plans to force all students, faculty and staff to get fully vaccinated before returning to campuses in the fall. Those who are not exempt from receiving the vaccine and do not apply it will not be able to attend classes or activities or use the accommodation, authorities announced Thursday.

Experts like Dr. Fauci have said that local vaccination mandates could be helpful in protecting the United States from a further increase in cases. And such mandates for employees could be easier for private companies as the vaccine approval process progresses.

All of the COVID-19 vaccines available in the country – those from Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – have been licensed for emergency use. However, companies are still working to obtain full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Pfizer and BioNTech said Friday that the FDA had prioritized their request for full approval of the vaccine, and an FDA official told CNN that the decision on full approval will likely come within two months.

“Getting full approval, going out of emergency use authorization, and getting to full approval is something that will clear up any legal issues that private employers may have,” former Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday.

Employers, schools and universities should “get more serious” in telling people that choosing not to get vaccinated could mean losing access to places that could put others at risk.

“I think it’s time to tell those people: ‘It’s okay if you decide not to get vaccinated, (but) you can’t come to work.’

– Gregory Lemos, Carma Hassan, Naomi Thomas, Lauren Mascarenhas, Jacqueline Howard, Deidre McPhillips, Virginia Langmaid and Sarah Braner contributed to this report.