“The new variants will leave unvaccinated people even more vulnerable than they are or were a month ago. This is a serious concern. Especially because of what experts are calling the Delta variant. It’s a variant that is more easily transmissible, potentially deadlier and particularly dangerous for young people,” Biden said in public remarks at the White House.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization included the Delta variant in its list of so-called variants of concern, as the mutated virus became prevalent and caused a sharp surge in infections in some countries, especially India, where it was first identified.
Biden said that existing vaccines offer sufficient protection to fully-inoculated individuals and he foresees no need for new lockdowns.
“I don’t think so, because so many people have already been vaccinated,” he said when asked about a possibility of additional lockdowns. “But the Delta variant can cause more people to die in areas where people have not been vaccinated. Where people have gotten two shots, the Delta variant is highly unlikely to result in anything... The existing vaccines are very effective."
He announced that the US has administered over 300 million doses of coronavirus vaccines over the last 150 days, with 15 states and the District of Columbia reaching a 70-percent vaccination rate.