The highly contagious variant that first showed up in the UK has now spread to all 50 states – as experts warn that there are not enough vaccines available to keep it from triggering another rise in the number of cases.
More than 15,000 cases have already been discovered in the US of the B117 variant, which is believed to be more transmissible and deadly than previous versions, CNN reported.
“America seems to be finished with the pandemic. The virus is not yet ready for us, ”said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Research and Policy for Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota.
While vaccines are effective against the variant, they are not being rolled out fast enough to avoid causing cases.
“We will not have enough vaccines, as we are going now, in the arms of enough Americans over the course of the next six to 10 weeks with this wave that we will be stopping,” said Osterholm. “It’s just not going to happen.”
Osterholm said vaccination efforts should focus on getting Americans as many first doses as possible.
“Right now with the wave about to happen, this is what we want to do now: protect as many people as we can so that they don’t get serious illness, hospitalization and death,” said Osterholm.
But Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned against delaying second doses to prioritize getting as many shots in the arms as possible.
“You’re in a weak zone if you don’t have the full impact,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said he didn’t get the full vaccine regimen.
“So there is some merit to the arguments presented. But now, given the number of vaccines we can give every day, literally every day that passes, we’re getting closer and closer to where we want to be. “
