The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director, Rochelle Walensky, is warning the nation COVID-19 is becoming a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
During a White House press briefing on Friday, Walensky explained how cases are rising in parts of the United States.
“This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated. We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage,” Walensky said.
She added, “Communities that are fully vaccinated are generally faring well.”
According to Walensky, in the last week, 10% of counties have transitioned to high transmission risk, and 7% of counties have moved to substantial risk.
Watch her comments below:
BREAKING: "This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated," CDC Dir. Walensky says in White House Covid briefing.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 16, 2021
"We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage … Communities that are fully vaccinated are generally faring well." pic.twitter.com/1PrNBwG213
As of July 15, more than 388 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed, and over 336 million have been administered. There has also been a 26% increase in hospitalizations over the past two weeks, according to The New York Times.
The White House has been working to combat misinformation about the vaccine. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy spoke out against health misinformation during a White House press briefing on Thursday, as IJR reported.
He said health misinformation is “one of the biggest obstacles that’s preventing us from ending this pandemic.”
Murthy added, “Today, we live in a world where misinformation poses an imminent and insidious threat to our nation’s health.”
He explained during the pandemic, “Health misinformation has led people to resist wearing masks in high-risk settings. It’s led them to turndown proven treatments and to choose not to get vaccinated. This has led to avoidable illness and death.”
The surgeon general also claimed, “Health misinformation has cost us lives.”
The Washington Post cited a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll showing 29% of Americans said they were unlikely to get vaccinated.