Fauci: Delta strain is a ‘nasty variant’

Anthony Fauci characterized the delta strain of the coronavirus as a “nasty variant” during an interview on Sunday. 

Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Fauci said Americans who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus should be concerned about a spike in delta variant cases. 

“It’s very clear that this is a nasty variant. It has a much greater capacity of transmitting from person to person,” Fauci said, adding the vaccines that are being used in America to fight the coronavirus “are working very well” and do protect against the delta variant. 

“The bad news is that we have a very nasty variant. The good news is that we have a vaccine that works against it,” Fauci said. 

White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci tells @GStephanopoulos there’s “good news, bad news” with prevalence of Delta variant: “The bad news is that we have a very nasty variant, the good news is that we have a vaccine that works against it.” https://t.co/V7GmzOxJzQ pic.twitter.com/qEhgqCHO0G

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 11, 2021

The nation’s leading infectious diseases expert also voiced concern about what he called a “schism between some states and some areas that have a very low level of vaccination.” 

President Biden last week renewed a call for all Americans to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, saying his administration is prepared to be more aggressive in fighting vaccine misinformation and eliminating barriers to inoculation for all citizens.  

“It’s never been easier, and it’s never been more important,” Biden said. “Do it now for yourself and the people you care about, for your neighborhood, for your country. It sounds corny, but it’s a patriotic thing to do.”