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July 1, 2021 – The White House on Thursday announced it will send “strike teams” to 1,000 counties where the COVID-19 delta variant is spreading rapidly.
The teams made up of health and logistics experts from several federal agencies, will conduct coronavirus testing, distribute medicines designed to fight the virus and boost local and state efforts to increase vaccinations.
The highly contagious delta COVID-19 variant is on its way to outpacing the original strain in the United States, the CDC announced Thursday.
“The delta variant is predicted to be second most prevalent variant in the U.S.,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, said at a news conference. “I expect in the coming weeks it’ll eclipse the alpha variant.”
Walensky said an estimated 25% of sequenced COVID-19 cases in the United States are the delta variant. In some regions of the country, the strain comprises 1 in 2 cases, she said.
"Looking across the country we have made incredible progress," she said. "However, looking state by state and county by country it is clear communities where people remain unvaccinated are communities that are vulnerable.”
Walensky also reported a 10% increase in the 7-day average of reported infections – a possible result of delta’s recent spread.
Approximately 1,000 counties in the U.S. have vaccination coverage of less than 30%, Walensky said, including areas of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas.
Health officials in Los Angeles County, along with the World Health Association, have recently recommended a return to masking for vaccinated people. However, top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, MD, said the CDC still advises only unvaccinated individuals to wear masks in most situations.
The reason for WHO’s stricter guidance can be attributed to higher infection rates worldwide than in the U.S., he said.
“The WHO is responsible for the planet as a whole,” Fauci said at the news conference. “As we’ve always said, you can make general guidelines, but you have to be flexible at various levels,” including at the country, state, and community level, he said.
Currently, 67% of American adults have received at least one shot.
"strike" - Google News
July 02, 2021 at 03:56AM
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'Strike Teams' to Fight Delta COVID in 1000 Counties - WebMD
"strike" - Google News
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