Fauci warns of ‘difficulty’ for those with BA.5 variant if not up to date on vaccines

Aug 6, 2022

Washington – Fauci told Los Angeles radio station KNX News earlier this week that although people who are unvaccinated and those with underlying conditions are at the greatest risk of complications from covid-19, others are not exempt.

“If they don’t get vaccinated or they don’t get boosted, they’re going to get into trouble,” he said.

On Aug. 2, the U.S. recorded 659 deaths from COVID-19 and 161,225 new cases of the virus, according to the CDC.

“If they don’t get vaccinated or they don’t get boosted, they’re going to get into trouble,” he said.

More than two years into the coronavirus pandemic, Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said he understands people are exhausted, but is urging those who are not up to date on the vaccines to get the shots — this time, as the latest omicron subvariant, BA.5, has become the dominant strain in the United States.

“People say, ‘The risk to me is low, so why get [vaccinated]?’” he said. “It is about you as an individual, but it’s also about the communal responsibility to get this outbreak under control.”

He added: “You don’t want COVID to dominate the lives of people throughout this country or the world, but you don’t want to, by wishing it’s behind us and it’s in the rearview mirror, not do things that would be prudent.

We’re not talking about locking down, we’re just talking about common sense, getting the appropriate interventions when they’re available to you—and right now we have boosters that are very effective in diminishing any aspect of the infection.”

Almost 80% of the U.S. population has been given at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, but only two-thirds of Americans have received their second shot and less than half have had their booster dose, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Fauci also emphasized that high immunization rates could help prevent new variants of the virus by slowing its spread, while long COVID was also a factor to consider when thinking about staying up-to-date with vaccinations.

Fauci said Tuesday that while he understood everyone was “exhausted” with the pandemic, studies and statistics clearly showed that vaccines prevented severe disease, hospitalization, and death.