TOPLINE: Top infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday highlighted the importance of the U.S. quickly gaining control of the delta variant, warning continued community spread could lead to even more dangerous mutations of Covid-19, including those capable of evading the protection of vaccines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



“That will happen, George, if we don’t get good control over the community spread,” Fauci told “Good Morning America” anchor George Stephanopoulos during a Thursday interview on ABC News.&nbsp;



Allowing the virus to spread through unvaccinated populations—as it is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/08/03/florida-shatters-record-for-covid-hospitalization-again-as-desantis-downplays-crisis/">doing</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/07/31/us-reports-almost-200000-new-covid-cases-in-worst-spike-since-january/">rapidly</a>&nbsp;now—gives it “ample opportunity to mutate,” explained President Biden’s top medical advisor.&nbsp;



“You may sooner or later get another variant, and it is possible that that variant might be in some respects worse than the already difficult variant we’re dealing with now,” Fauci said, referencing the delta variant, which experts say is significantly more infectious than other coronavirus strains.



He also emphasized that the virus can mutate regardless of whether people contracting the virus get symptoms.&nbsp;



Vaccines may be effective at preventing serious disease and death with Covid-19’s current mutations, but this may not necessarily be true with future evolutions, Fauci emphasized.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chief-critic">CHIEF CRITIC</h2>



“People who say, ‘I don’t want to get vaccinated because it’s me and I’ll worry about me, I’m not having any impact on anybody else,’ that’s just not the case,” Fauci said.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT&nbsp;</h2>



Fauci’s warning came as Moderna&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-says-its-covid-19-shot-remains-93-effective-4-6-months-after-second-dose-2021-08-05/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;Thursday morning its Covid-19 shot is about 93% effective through six months after the second dose. Pfizer in July said the effectiveness of its jab steadily declines to about 84% six months after the final dose. Both vaccine makers have said they expect booster shots to be necessary ahead of the winter season, particularly due to the threat of the delta variant.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND&nbsp;</h2>



The delta variant is driving surges in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations that haven’t been seen since the early stages of the U.S.’s vaccine rollout. More than 51,000 Americans are now hospitalized with Covid-19, an 87% increase from two weeks ago, and cases have increased 131% to a daily average of nearly 100,000 during the same period, according to data&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">compiled by The New York Times</a>. Deaths have also shot up (by 65%) over the past two weeks, but—at 410—are still well below the country’s winter peak. Fauci has said while it’s “unquestionable” the delta variant is more infectious, it is “less clear” whether it actually causes more serious disease.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR&nbsp;</h2>



Fauci warned in an <a href="https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavirus/article253248688.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interview</a> with McClatchy on Wednesday the U.S. could begin reporting between 100,000 and 200,000 new cases each day if safety precautions and vaccinations don’t increase. “Remember, just a couple of months ago, we were having about 10,000 cases a day,” Fauci said. There are hopeful signs: After months of decline, the number of Americans getting the shot has been steadily increasing. White House Covid-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar <a href="https://twitter.com/cyrusshahpar46/status/1422226019260370947" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> Tuesday, as the U.S. surpassed a 70% partial inoculation rate, that the seven-day average of newly vaccinated people (441,000) was the highest in more than a month.



By Jemima McEvoy, Forbes Staff

Dr. Fauci Testifies To Senate Health Committee On Country’s COVID-19 Response

Fauci: Failure To Control Delta Variant Could Lead To ‘Worse’ Mutations That Evade Vaccines

Despite the rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations across the country, two of the nation’s top infectious disease experts say it’s too early for Americans to be making travel plans.



“I want to emphasize that now is not a good time to be traveling, period, internationally or domestically,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during a virtual&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/27/app-news-section/full-coronavirus-town-hall-january-27/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNN global town hall</a>&nbsp;hosted by Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta.



Dr. Walensky was there to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic along with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and chair of the Covid-19 health equity task force Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.



Dr. Walensky said she favored more Covid-19 testing for travelers. “As part of the American Rescue Act, we have a budget for a lot more testing,” she said, noting that much of that budget is going to be earmarked for testing in schools. “But I would really like to see much of that budget, and I think the Biden administration as well, to use it for high-risk activities. And one of those high-risk activities would be for travel and domestic flights.”



A town hall audience member asked how soon after receiving her second Covid-19 shot could she safely travel.



“Getting vaccinated does not say you have a free pass to travel,” said Dr. Fauci. “Nor does it say you have a free pass to put aside all the public health measures that we talk about all the time.”



“You can get some degree of protection that isn’t durable 10 days to 14 days after the first dose, but you can’t rely on that,” said Dr. Fauci. “The maximum immunity begins about 10 days to two weeks and beyond following the second dose. That goes for anyone, regardless of whether you want to travel or not.”



But Dr. Fauci underscored that even a second dose of the vaccine wasn’t a permission slip to travel. “That would give you as a group about a 94 to 95% efficacy and a good safety profile. The situation, though, does not change what Dr. Walensky said. It is not a good idea to travel, period. We don’t want people to think that because they got vaccinated that other public health recommendations just don’t apply.”



Dr. Walensky reminded the town hall audience that the current CDC guidelines for international travel are very strict. The current recommendation calls for a viral test for Covid-19 several days before travel, as well as self quarantining and getting another test after you return home.



Dr. Fauci addressed why it was still important to wear a face mask after getting a second shot. “The reason is very clear that the primary endpoint of the vaccine trial was clinically apparent infections. So you could conceivably get infected, get no symptoms, and still have virus in your nasopharynx.”



It’s possible that people who have been vaccinated may still be able to get infected with a very low level of virus, said Dr. Fauci. “You would have to wear a mask to prevent you from infecting someone else, as well as the other side of the coin, where you may not be totally protected yourself.”



“We do not know as a fact” that getting vaccinated prevents someone from spreading a future infection, said Dr. Fauci, who noted that the government plans a quantitative study to compare the virus levels in vaccinated people with asymptomatic infections versus the levels in unvaccinated people with asymptomatic infections.



“It’s unlikely if you got such a low level of infection that you would pass it on but we don’t know that yet,” said Dr. Fauci. “This is an assumption that I think is reasonable, but we don’t know the facts yet. That’s the reason we have to do this study.”



READ MORE



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By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff

Tag: Anthony Fauci

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Fauci: Failure To Control Delta Variant Could Lead To ‘Worse’ Mutations That Evade Vaccines

Fauci: Getting Vaccinated Is ‘Not A Free Pass’ To Travel