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More severe Covid variant may strike, says top US expert
Anthony Fauci’s dire warning comes at a time when new daily cases in US reached a six-month high with over 100k reported.
Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert and adviser to the government on its Covid-19 strategy, has sent out a chilling warning, saying Covid-19 cases in the country may double while 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.
“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 not getting vaccinated think it’s only about them. It’s about everybody else also.”
Fauci’s warning came as the US hit a six-month high for new Covid cases with over 100,000 infections reported on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The Biden administration is taking the first steps towards requiring nearly all international visitors to the US to be vaccinated against the disease.
In France, a constitutional court on Thursday validated most aspects of a new law that, starting next week, requires people to carry a Covid-19 health pass to access cafes, restaurants and long-distance travel. But it struck down a few measures.
Also, France and Germany have decided to offer a third Covid-19 vaccine booster shot to vulnerable people starting in September, defying a WHO appeal to delay third doses.
China announced that it will provide 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the world this year.
(With inputs from Sutirtho Patranobis in Beijing)
