WASHINGTON – The White House COVID Response Team said that if you’ve been hesitant to get vaccinated, now is the time.
Health officials detailed the toll the delta variant is taking on the unvaccinated and urged Americans to do their part to stop the pandemic. Cases of coronavirus are up nearly 12% over last week and deaths are up 23%.
Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, Comirnaty, has been fully approved by the FDA and officials hope this will give more Americans the reassurance they need to get vaccinated.
Officials said a national sampling of U.S. hospitals finds that the unvaccinated remain at high risk for severe illness. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said new data from Los Angeles finds the unvaccinated were five times more likely to be infected and 29 times more likely to be hospitalized.
They said 98% of the samples tested in the United States are now from the more contagious delta variant. As the battle continues over masks in schools, the Surgeon General made it clear that he believes there should be mask requirements in schools.
Jeff Zients, the COVID-19 Response Coordinator, said 6 million Americans received a vaccine in the last seven days. That’s the highest 7-day total in more than a month and a half.