Top US health official concerned about pandemic of the unvaccinated

AFP -The senior public health official in the United States Vivek Murthy said he was “very concerned” about the Covid-19 outlook for the coming months and defended the order to use a mask again in Los Angeles, stating that other regions should take the same measure.

Murthy, a senior government spokesman on public health issues, appeared on several news programs within hours of the new indoor masking mandate going into effect in Los Angeles.

So far, no other American city has reinstated a similar measure, but Murthy said others will follow suit as cases of the much more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus surge.

“In areas where there are low numbers of people vaccinated, or where cases are increasing, it is very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measures like the use of masks seen in Los Angeles, and I anticipate that will happen elsewhere. from the country, ”Murthy told ABC .

After months of declining infections, the number of Covid-19 cases shot up 135% in the last two weeks, with increases seen in almost every state in the country.

Los Angeles also suffered a significant increase. “In the last few days, we reached almost 1,900 cases and more than 460 people are now in our (intensive care) units,” Hilda Solís, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, told ABC.

Despite attempts by health officials to reassure the safety and efficacy of vaccines, skepticism persists, with misinformation fueling an increase in cases in many regions.

97% of those hospitalized in June had not been inoculated, said Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who stated that Covid-19 “is becoming the pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

Only 48% of Americans are fully immunized.

The combination of the Delta variant and the delay in vaccination has Murthy “deeply concerned” about the outlook for the fall, as more people return to work and unvaccinated children go back to school.