Nationwide COVID cases have more than doubled over the past two weeks with the predominance of the delta variant, which is \u201cable to spread very efficiently and very easily from person to person,\u201d said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union.\u201d<\/b>
\nUnvaccinated Americans are helping propel the nation in \u201cthe wrong direction,\u201d the top infectious disease expert said on Sunday. Nationwide COVID cases have more than doubled over the past two weeks with the predominance of the delta variant, which is \u201cable to spread very efficiently and very easily from person to person,\u201d said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re going in the wrong direction,\u201d he said. \u201cSince we have 50% of the country [that] is not fully vaccinated, that\u2019s a problem.\u201d At the same time, the vaccination rate has drastically fallen, prompting officials to try all kinds of measures to motivate Americans to get jabbed. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, recently decried unvaccinated Americans as \u201cletting us down.\u201d \u201dI\u2019m very frustrated,\u201d Fauci said. \u201cI can totally understand the governor\u2019s frustration.\u201d He noted some jurisdictions have called on residents to resume wearing masks in indoor spaces \u2014 a step New York officials have shunned to date. In New York State, the single-day COVID infection rate came to 2.23% on Saturday, according to Gov. Cuomo\u2019s office. That extended a concerning increase since the rate breached 1% earlier this month. \u201cCOVID-19 continues to spread in New York State, and new variants are cause for concern, so it\u2019s absolutely vital that every New Yorker who hasn\u2019t gotten vaccinated yet does so immediately,\u201d Cuomo said in a statement. Describing the difference between people who have gotten vaccinated and those who refuse to do so, Fauci said: \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like we have two kinds of America. \u201cWe have the very vulnerable unvaccinated part, and we have the really relatively protected vaccinated part,\u201d he said. With News Wire Services<\/p>\n