Sunday shows – Delta variant, infrastructure dominate

by The Hill staff - 08/01/21 11:32 AM ET

coronavirus COVID-19 community spread delta variant scott gottlieb predict august outbreak trajectory — Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A pharmacy advertises the Covid-19 vaccine in a neighborhood near Brighton Beach on July 22, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The historically Russian neighborhood has experienced a rise in Covid-19 cases in recent days. Brighton Beach has a 3.7 percent positivity rate, one of the highest in New York City.

A surge in coronavirus infections driven by the highly transmissible delta variant and the latest on infrastructure talks dominated the Sunday morning political talk shows.

Anthony Fauci, who serves as President Biden’s chief medical adviser, said that “things are going to get worse” and there will likely “be more pain and suffering.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said bipartisan negotiators are “just about there” on an infrastructure bill.

Read The Hill’s complete coverage below.

Fauci says 'things are going to get worse' as delta variant drives surge in cases

By JOSEPH CHOI

Chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci on Sunday warned that "things are going to get worse" and that the U.S. will likely see more "pain and suffering" as the more infectious delta variant drives a surge in COVID-19 cases.

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Fauci: Amount of virus in breakthrough delta cases 'almost identical' to unvaccinated

By JOSEPH CHOI

Anthony Fauci, President Biden's chief medical adviser, on Sunday discussed new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data that showed the levels of coronavirus in vaccinated breakthrough cases of the delta variant are "almost identical" to the levels seen among unvaccinated patients.

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NIH director: Mask guidance is 'mostly about protecting the unvaccinated'

By MYCHAEL SCHNELL

Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said on Sunday that the new mask guidance released last week urging fully vaccinated people to wear a face covering indoors in coronavirus hotspots is “mostly about protecting the unvaccinated.”

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Wearing masks in schools is 'sacrifice worth making,' NIH director says

By JOSEPH CHOI

Requiring students under the age of 12 to wear masks is a "sacrifice worth making," Francis Collins, director of the National Institute of Health (NIH), on Sunday.

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Buttigieg on federal union pushback to vaccine mandate: 'This is about protecting lives'

By DOMINICK MASTRANGELO

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday defended the federal government's recent decision to require employees to either be vaccinated against the coronavirus or undergo regular testing and wear a mask.

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South Carolina governor accuses health experts of 'hyperbole'

By JOSEPH CHOI

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R)on Sunday accused health experts of "hyperbole" and "exaggeration" in regards to the current COVID-19 surge brought on by the more infectious delta variant.

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Collins says negotiators are 'just about finished' with infrastructure bill

By MYCHAEL SCHNELL

“We've been finishing up the spending provisions, the appropriations provisions and marrying them to the bill, and we really are just about finished, but large parts of tags have already been shared with Senate offices,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of the negotiators working on the bill, told host Jake Tapper during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

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Ocasio-Cortez: Democrats can't blame GOP for end of eviction moratorium

By MYCHAEL SCHNELL

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday that Democrats cannot “in good faith blame the Republican Party” for the federal eviction moratorium expiring overnight because Democrats hold the majority in the lower chamber.

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White House adviser asks landlords to seek rental assistance before evicting tenants

By JOSEPH CHOI

White House economic adviser Brian Deese on Sunday called on landlords to seek rental assistance before beginning to evict tenants behind on their rent after the federal eviction moratorium ended.

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Kinzinger supports Jan. 6 panel subpoenas for Republicans, including McCarthy

By MYCHAEL SCHNELL

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), one of the two GOP members on the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, said on Sunday that he would support subpoenaing anyone to appear before the panel who can shed light on what former President Trump was doing during the rioting, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

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