Fauci urges people to put politics aside to get vaccinated as 'nasty' delta variant rages
The White House chief medical adviser appeared on ABC's "This Week."
Unvaccinated individuals should put politics aside and get vaccinated to protect themselves from the highly transmissible and "nasty" delta variant Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday.
"What we're trying to do is to just put politics aside, this is no time for politics. This is a public health issue and viruses, and public health don't know the difference between a Democrat and Republican or an Independent,'' the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease told ABC "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos.
A recent ABC News/ Washington Post poll found that 93% of Democrats said they were vaccinated or planning to get vaccinated, while only 49% of Republicans said the same.
The delta variant was present in at least 51% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. between June 20 and July 3, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At least 25 states have seen an uptick in coronavirus cases as vaccination rates dropped to their lowest point since January, averaging 600,000 daily administered doses this past week compared to an average of 1 million administered doses the week prior.
This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
