New Delhi: The Indian-American Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on Wednesday alerted the world for the Delta variant of novel coronavirus. Dr. Vivek Murthy said, “Delta variant is significantly more transmissible and more dangerous in terms of severity of illness that it causes.”
“We have seen how quickly it has taken over in the United Kingdom, where it’s become – getting close to 100 percent of new COVID cases of Delta,” Dr. Murthy told media.
Further, he added that “I am quite worried about the Delta variant. It is more transmissible, significantly more transmissible. It also may be more dangerous in terms of severity of illness that it causes.”
On the people who have been not vaccinated yet, he said “I am worried about those who are not vaccinated, and what we have found is, based on the studies coming out of the UK, that if you are vaccinated, you are actually quite well-protected particularly against hospitalizations and deaths.”
So far, 65.4 percent of Americans have received at least one dose, 55.9 percent are fully vaccinated, while the vaccination rate for age 12 and older is at 62.5 percent, and over 18 years is at 65.4 percent.
French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal on Wednesday warned that the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus “must be of concern to us”, urging individual and collective vigilance to prevent a spiral of infections due to the more contagious variant.
The France government spokesperson reiterated that vaccine is a weapon against the pandemic, adding “The more we continue to be vaccinated, the more we will be able to protect ourselves against variants.”
First identified in India, the Delta variant is the fastest and fittest coronavirus strain that will “pick off” the most vulnerable people, the World Health Organization said on Monday.
