Director of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, testified before a House Select subcommittee hearing on “The light at the end of the tunnel: a scientific approach to ending the pandemic quickly and safely” on Capitol Hill 10 weather forecast for Washington, DC.
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U.S. health officials have confirmed fewer than 6,000 cases of Covid-19 in fully vaccinated Americans, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, said Monday.
This represents only 0.007% of the 84 million Americans with full protection against the virus. Despite the breakthrough infections, none of the patients were dead or seriously ill, indicating that the vaccines were working as desired, she said.
“With any vaccine, we expect such rare cases, but so far, out of more than 84 million people who have been fully vaccinated, we have only received reports of less than 6,000 breakthrough cases,” she said in a press release to reporters. Breakthrough cases occur when someone catches the virus more than 14 days after their second shot, she said.
The CDC chief acknowledged that the number could be an understatement.
“Although this number comes from 43 states and territories and is likely and underestimated, it is still a very important point, these vaccines work. Of the nearly 6,000 cases, about 30% had no symptoms at all,” Walensky said. .
Half of all American adults have so far received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine. From the age of 65 years and older, 81% received one dose or more and about two-thirds were completely vaccinated.
U.S. health officials are launching a massive campaign to persuade more Americans to take the vaccine. An increasing number of people became skeptical after the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration asked states last week to temporarily halt the distribution of Johnson & Johnson vaccines after cases of a rare, but potentially fatal, blood clotting disorder were reported to the CDC is.
Some of former President Donald Trump’s supporters are also strongly opposed to the vaccination, which worries US health officials in the hope that enough people will be vaccinated so that the country can gain herd immunity against the virus. White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci previously said 75% to 85% of the U.S. population should be vaccinated to create an “umbrella” of immunity that prevents the virus from spreading.
“It is very disturbing that people do not want to be vaccinated based on political convictions,” Fauci told CBS News on Monday. “I find this really extraordinary, because it’s those who say you’re infringing on our freedoms by asking us to wear masks and enforce types of restrictions that are public health issues. word. ”
The US currently reports 723 Covid deaths per day, according to an average of seven days, based on data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
At the request of President Biden, all 50 US states opened the vaccine to people aged 16 and over by Monday.